Do not imagine that if you meet a really humble man he will be what most people call "humble" nowadays: he will not be a sort of greasy, smarmy person, who is always telling you that, of course, he is a nobody. Probably all you will think about him is that he seemed a cheerful, intelligent chap who took a real interest in what you said to him.
We sometimes encounter people, even perfect strangers, who begin to interest us at first sight, somehow suddenly, all at once, before a word has been spoken.
Art is the nearest thing to life; it is a mode of amplifying experience and extending our contact with our fellow men beyond the bounds of our personal lot.
When two people meet, each one is changed by the other so you've got two new people.
What does the world get from two people/who exist in a world of their own?
There's a difference between good chemistry and a bond. Chemistry is something you have with somebody you meet - or you don't. It's an intangible. It may be superficial. It's much harder to put your finger on than a bond.
I could never, ever talk to my father. I really loved him, but we couldn't talk about anything together. There was this really British thing that being even remotely emotional was absolutely verboten.
There is only one happiness in this life, to love and be loved.
Faces are the most interesting things we see; other people fascinate me, and the most interesting aspect of other people - the point where we go inside them - is the face. It tells all.
Why don’t we break up? I guess I stay with her because she stays with me. And that’s not an easy thing to do.
One who has learned to love all people will find plenty of people who will return that love.
Intimacy requires courage because risk is inescapable. We cannot know at the outset how the relationship will affect us.
When I am on my deathbed, I don't think I will be thinking about a nice pair of shoes I had or my beautiful house. I am going to be thinking about an evening I spent with somebody when I was twenty where I felt that I was just absolutely connected to them.
I thought about the bigger picture of my life, and about the people—and particularly the guys—I would encounter during my lifetime. How would I ever know when that moment was right, when expectation met anticipation and formed … connection?
If I can listen to what he can tell me, if I can understand how it seems to him; if I can see its personal meaning for him, if I can sense the emotional flavor which it has for him, then I will be releasing potent forces of change in him.
Since appearance can't be peeled decisively from the reality of a thing, attunement is a living, dynamic relation with another being.
It took me a while to realize that the only way to really communicate with people is to give them your point of view.
In erotic love, two people who were separate become one. In motherly love, two people who were one become separate. The mother must not only tolerate, she must wish and support the child's separation.
I'm always more comfortable and in a good place when I'm with friends because I know they trust me. I'm able to get great performances from people who trust me.
Music really is a way to reach out and hold on to each other in a healthy way.
The better the person you're with, the better you're going to be because they're giving you so much more.
One must have at least a readiness to love the other person, broadly speaking, if one is to be able to understand him.
Life is full of grief, to exactly the degree we allow ourselves to love other people.
I write because I want to end my loneliness. Books make people less alone. That, before and after everything else, is what books do. They show us that conversations are possible across distances.
I'm not the kind of person who sits off by myself and ignores everyone. I like to be happy!
