“We've got an agreeable, comfortable life here as Americans. But under it there's a huge, free-floating anxiety.”

“I think using animals for food is an ethical thing to do, but we've got to do it right. We've got to give those animals a decent life and we've got to give them a painless death. We owe the animal respect.”

“It's easy to sleep floating around — it's very comfortable. But you have to be careful that you don't float into somebody or something!”

“If I take death into my life, acknowledge it, and face it squarely, I will free myself from the anxiety of death and the pettiness of life - and only then will I be free to become myself.”

“[American exceptionalism] is a reaction to the inability of people to understand global complexity or important issues like American energy dependency. Therefore, they search for simplistic sources of comfort and clarity. And the people that they are now selecting to be, so to speak, the spokespersons of their anxieties are, in most cases, stunningly ignorant.”

“No, we never die for long,
While we've got that little life
To live for, where it's hid inside.”

“You mustn't be so afraid of life - it's all we've got. Don't let it hurt you so much.”

“Life is in the business of making its environment agreeable for life.”

“The largest part of what we call 'personality' is determined by how we've opted to defend ourselves against anxiety and sadness".”

“Literature is the most agreeable way of ignoring life.”