Things to remember Life is a process of becoming, a combination of states we have to go through. Where people fail is that they wish to elect a state and remain in it. This is a kind of death. The most decisive actions of our life ... are most often unconsidered actions. How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives. Three passions have governed my life: The longings for love, the search for knowledge, And unbearable pity for the suffering of [humankind]. Love brings ecstasy and relieves loneliness. In the union of love I have seen In a mystic miniature the prefiguring vision Of the heavens that saints and poets have imagined. With equal passion I have sought knowledge. I have wished to understand the hearts of [people]. I have wished to know why the stars shine. Love and knowledge led upwards to the heavens, But always pity brought me back to earth; Cries of pain reverberated in my heart Of children in famine, of victims tortured And of old people left helpless. I long to alleviate the evil, but I cannot, And I too suffer. This has been my life; I found it worth living. The good life is inspired by love and guided by knowledge I love my past. I love my present. I'm not ashamed of what I've had, and I'm not sad because I have it no longer. Only when we are no longer afraid do we begin to live. Life is a quest and love a quarrel ... Life is just one damned thing after another. Love doesn't make the world go 'round; love is what makes the ride worthwhile. What is the meaning of life? To be happy and useful. I think to much when I drink