In life, when one gets to the point of a deeper sense of understanding about himself and his purpose, he least explains himself much to people who fail to understand him and his purpose. That must not be interpreted as neither pride nor an uncaring a...
I believe that an orderly universe, one indifferent to human preoccupations, in which everything has an expla nation even if we still have a long way to go before we find it, is a more beautiful, more wonderful place than a universe tricked out with ...
No wonder male religious leaders so often say that humans were born in sin—because we were born to female creatures. Only by obeying the rules of the patriarchy can we be reborn through men. No wonder priests and ministers in skirts sprinkle imitat...
As our lives speed up more and more, so do our children's. We forget and thus they forget that there is nothing more important than the present moment. We forget and thus they forget to relax, to find spiritual solitude, to let go of the past, to qui...
I think my dad was so fascinated by this idea because he realized on some fundamental level that he was not in control of his desires: I think he woke up every morning in his nice house with hardwood floors and granite countertops and wondered why he...
A wonderful area for speculative academic work is the unknowable. These days religious subjects are in disfavor, but there are still plenty of good topics. The nature of consciousness, the workings of the brain, the origin of aggression, the origin o...
I used to think that when I finished a book, I was finished with it. But it's like a wonderful Hydra. Every time a head disappears, more heads appear, so I will be writing for the rest of my life. The more books I write, the more books I find that I ...
I flopped on the overstuffed kitchen couch and watched him go. I wondered what would happen to all his films and photographs in the upstairs closet - the documentaries on homelessness and drug addiction, the funny short subjects, the half-finished ro...
I've worked with the Los Angeles Zoo for 45 years, and we have this magnificent photographer, Tad Motoyama. He takes these wonderful, wonderful animal pictures. All through the years he's given me copies of these pictures. Well, I have all these gorg...
I wonder about people who say they haven't time to think. For myself, I can double think. I find that weighing vegetables, passing the time of day with customers, fighting or loving Mary, coping with the children-- none of these prevents a second and...
Mr. Fox: The whole time I was putting paw over paw with your mother digging beside me, and I thought to myself: I wonder who this little boy... Ash: Or girl! Mr. Fox: Right, 'cause at the time we didn't know. I wonder who this little boy or girl is g...
Ma Bailey: [speaking of Mary Hatch] Why, she lights up like a firefly whenever you are around. Besides, Sam Wainright is off in New York, and you're here in Bedford Falls... George Bailey: And all's fair in love and war, right? Ma Bailey: [fixing his...
Mrs. Hatch: Who is down there with you, Mary? Mary: It's George Bailey, mother. Mrs. Hatch: George Bailey? What does he want? Mary: I don't know! [to George] Mary: What do you want? George Bailey: Me? Nothing! I just came in to get warm. Mary: [pause...
Mary: Bread... that this house may never know hunger. [Mary hands a loaf of bread to Mrs. Martini] Mary: Salt... that life may always have flavor. [Mary hands a box of salt to Mrs. Martini] George Bailey: And wine... that joy and prosperity may reign...
George Bailey: [George is having his last meal at home before leaving on his cruise. His father is distraught over his leaving] Pop, I think you're a great guy. George Bailey: [thinking Annie is eavesdropping] Did you hear that, Annie? Annie: I heard...
George Bailey: [gazing eyes with Mary] Well, well, well. Freddie Othello: Now, to get back to my story, see? [in a trance, Mary hands Othello her drink, and George and Mary start dancing] Freddie Othello: Hey, this is MY dance! George Bailey: Oh, why...
Ernie Bishop: Just a minute! Quiet everybody! Quiet, quiet. Now get this, it's from London. Ma Bailey: Oh! Ernie Bishop: [Reading the telegram in his hand] Mr. Gower cabled you need cash, stop. My office instructed to advance you up to twenty-five th...
Mr. Potter: What have you been doing lately, George? Playing the market with the company's money? George Bailey: No, of course not. Mr. Potter: Or is it a woman you're involved with? It's all over town that you've been giving money to Violet Bick. Ge...
House owner: I mean Pottersville. Don't you think I know where I live? What's the matter with you? [He proceeds toward his house. George is completely bewildered] George Bailey: Oh, I don't know. Either I'm off my nut, or he is... [to Clarence] Georg...
Clarence: Oh, now wait a minute. That's an idea now, isn't it? [looks upward] Clarence: What do you think? Ahhh... All right, George, you've got your wish: you've never been born. [Wind begins to blow violently outside the shack; Clarence yells out t...
Carpetbagger: Your young friend could use some help. [holds up a bottle of patent medicine] Carpetbagger: This is it... one dollar a bottle. It works wonders on wounds. Josey Wales: Works wonders on just about everything, eh? Carpetbagger: It can do ...
