I suppose even when I was growing up, I noticed I was most happy when I was absorbed in something, lost in the moment and forgot the time, whether was conversation, movie, or a game I was playing. That was my definition of happiness. And I was least happy when I was all over the place, distracted and restless.

I think writing is really about a journey of understanding. So you take something that seems very far away, and the more you write about it, the more you travel into it, and you see it from within.

A traveler is really not someone who crosses ground so much as someone who is always hungry for the next challenge and adventure.

Not having a car gives me volumes not to think or worry about, and makes walks around the neighborhood a daily adventure.

Art is one of the prime ways we have of opening ourselves and going beyond ourselves. That's what art is: it's the product of the human being in the world and imagination, all coming together.

Dollar bills have absolutely no value except in our collective imagination, but everybody believes in the dollar bill.

Imagination, the supreme delight of the immortal and the immature, should be limited. In order to enjoy life, we should not enjoy it too much.

Americans worship creativity the way they worship physical beauty - as a way of enjoying elitism without guilt: God did it.