12 Rules for Life

“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?”

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

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

there is little difference between territorial rights and social status.

the source of ideas, the mysterious realm of gestation and birth.

we know exactly how and where we can be hurt, and why. That is as good a definition as any of self-consciousness. We are aware of our own defencelessness, finitude and mortality. We can feel pain, and self-disgust, and shame, and horror, and we know it.

the future is a judgmental father.

Once we can see the future, we must prepare for it, or live in denial and terror.

rules should not be multiplied beyond necessity. Alternatively stated, bad laws drive out respect for good laws.