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The first step toward greater joy is to stop fleeing from innocence, begin retreating from cynicism and nihilism, and embrace once more the truth that life is mysterious and that it daily offers meaningful wonders for our consideration. Dogs know.
One of the greatest gifts we receive from dogs is the tenderness they evoke in us.
I start a novel with only a premise and a couple of characters who intrigue me.
I learned that the more overwhelming a project seemed to be, the more fun it was, as well.
the flight from innocence so characteristic of our time is a leap into absurdity and insanity.
Again I think of lines from “East Coker” by T. S. Eliot: “The only wisdom we can hope to acquire / Is the wisdom of humility.”
The only wisdom is humility, which engenders gratitude, and humility is the condition of the heart essential for us to know peace.
She was an inspiration who restored our sense of wonder. She was a revelation who by her natural virtues encouraged me to take a new, risky, and challenging direction in my writing.
T. S. Eliot again, in “East Coker,” lays down a truth that both comforts and terrifies: “And what you do not know is the only thing you know.”
What we do not know—the destiny of the soul, the nature of eternity—is the knowledge that matters most, and only when we recognize this truth can we live with the humility required in the face of eternity.
Here was the truth of our condition in this world, which we strive so hard to deny every day: Each of us, each living thing, lives by the hand of grace.
Dogs come to love the human voice, which they strive all their lives to understand.
Living with a recognition of the spiritual dimension of the world not only ensures a happier life but also a more honest intellectual life than if we allow no room for wonder and refuse to acknowledge the mystery of existence.
The Darkest Evening of the Year,
No landscaper who works here has ever before or since seen such a butterfly, nor have we. It danced about our heads at the very minute Trixie had died three weeks earlier.
In May 2008, more than ten months after Trixie left us, Linda brought another female golden retriever to us. Her name then was Arianna; her name now is Anna Koontz.
Every day of our lives, we see far more than we can comprehend, and because the failure to comprehend disquiets us, we lie to ourselves about what we see.
the only significant measure of your life is the positive effect you have on others, either by conscious acts of will or by unconscious example.
