Don't worry that children never listen to you; worry that they are always watching you.
Robert Fulghum
It will be a great day when our schools have all the money they need, and our air force has to have a bake-sale to buy a bomber.
I believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge. That myth is more potent than history. That dreams are more powerful than facts. That hope always triumphs over experience. That laughter is the only cure for grief. And I believe that love is stronger than death.
And it is still true, no matter how old you are, when you go out into the world it is best to hold hands and stick together.
Solitude is not the same as loneliness. Solitude is a solitary boat floating in a sea of possible companions.
The examined life is no picnic.
Share everything. Don't take things that aren't yours. Put things back where you found them.
Be aware of wonder. Live a balanced life - learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some.
I believe it is in my nature to dance by virtue of the beat of my heart, the pulse of my blood and the music in my mind.
All I really need to know... I learned in kindergarten.
Play fair. Don't hit people. Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody.
If you break your neck, if you have nothing to eat, if your house is on fire, then you got a problem. Everything else is inconvenience.
I fear the boredom that comes with not learning and not taking chances.
Leftovers in their less visible form are called memories. Stored in the refrigerator of the mind and the cupboard of the heart.
Clean up your own mess.
'Who do you think you are?' That's the big one, isn't it? A flourishing life depends on how you answer that.
Sticks and stones will break our bones, but words will break our hearts.
My goal now is to dance all the dances as long as I can, and then to sit down contented after the last elegant tango some sweet night and pass on because there wasn't another dance left in me.
To be human is to keep rattling the bars of the cage of existence, hollering, 'What's it for?'
Children are sent to school to be civilized, to learn to be part of the social enterprise.
On a very local scale, a refrigerator is the center of the universe. On the inside is food essential to life, and on the outside of the door is a summary of the life events of the household.
If you want an interesting party sometime, combine cocktails and a fresh box of crayons for everyone.
The world does not need tourists who ride by in a bus clucking their tongues. The world as it is needs those who will love it enough to change it, with what they have, where they are.
The solution to alone-ness is not more solitude, but companionship and community.
Patterns of repetition govern each day, week, year, and lifetime. 'Personal habits' is one term we use to describe the most common of these repeated patterns. But I say these habits are sacred because they give deliberate structure to our lives. Structure gives us a sense of security. And that sense of security is the ground of meaning.
Weddings seem to be magnets for mishap and for whatever craziness lurks in family closets. In more ways than one, weddings bring out the ding-dong in everybody involved.
I don't think there is a hidden purpose to the universe that you have to puzzle out.
I've always made a clear distinction between making a life and making a living.
The winding down of summer puts me in a heavy philosophical mood.
You are free to give life meaning, whatever meaning you want to give it.
I believe in dancing.
I've always thought anyone can make money. Making a life worth living, that's the real test.
My secret agenda is to convey my values to my kids.
I think my writing is part of my ministry.
Any fool can make enough money to survive. It's another thing to keep yourself consistently entertained. It's a lot of work, and a lot of fun, to make a life.
Do you notice that all presidents have a dog? There is always a First Dog. Or two or three. You have to have a dog to be president, I guess.
You feel like an ant contemplating Chicago.
I talk about very serious human affairs but with a lightness of heart.
I wanted to be a citizen of the world but not in a superficial way.
No. I was an only child.
Everything we do in our growing up has been done before. But it needs recognition and validation each time for each one of us - public, private, and secret.
'Maybe.' There's our word. The wisest answer to ultimate questions.
Most of the time, a kid doesn't think about what he's doing or why. This is the privilege of childhood.
