12 Rules for Life

Faith is not the childish belief in magic. That is ignorance or even willful blindness. It is instead the realization that the tragic irrationalities of life must be counterbalanced by an equally irrational commitment to the essential goodness of Being.

“What is it that is bothering me?” “Is that something I could fix?” and “Would I actually be willing to fix it?”

“Well, bucko, you’re good enough for a friend, but my experience of you so far has not indicated the

“What could I do, that I would do, to make Life a little better?”

Because we always contrast what is with what could be, we have to aim at what could be. But we can aim too high. Or too low. Or too chaotically. So we fail and live in disappointment, even when we appear to others to be living well.

The past is fixed, but the future—it could be better. It could be better, some precise amount—the amount that can be achieved, perhaps, in a day, with some minimal engagement.

What do you do to avoid conflict, necessary though it may be? What are you inclined to lie about, assuming that the truth might be intolerable? What do you fake?

Anxiety and depression cannot be easily treated if the sufferer has unpredictable daily routines.

A hurricane is an act of God. But failure to prepare, when the necessity for preparation is well known—that’s sin.

There is very little difference between the capacity for mayhem