I would rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself, than be crowded on a velvet cushion.

Even though I write about the human race, the further away from them, the better I feel. Two miles is great; two thousand miles is beautiful.

I don’t write with a machine. I write with a pen and a paper, which is what is most comfortable for me.

I really wanted to retire and rest and spend more time with my children, my grandchildren and of course with my wife.

I have never taken any exercise, except sleeping and resting, and I never intend to take any.

When men are easy in their circumstances, they are naturally enemies to innovations.

Meditation helps me to calm down.

What an encouraging thought that Jesus – our beloved Husband – can find comfort in our lowly feeble gifts! Can this be, for it seems far too good to be true? May we then be willing to endure trials or even death itself if through these hardships we are assisted in bringing gladness to Immanuel’s heart.

Sometimes I try to just sit at home and do something calmer and simpler and just be in my life. You know, not trying to solve a lot of things at once.

Although prepared for martyrdom, I preferred that it be postponed.

I’m really good at sleeping on planes. I mean, I smell jet fuel and I’m out; I’m asleep for takeoff.

There are moments when all anxiety and stated toil are becalmed in the infinite leisure and repose of nature.

In doubtful cases the more liberal interpretation must always be preferred.

Whosoever is delighted in solitude is either a wild beast or a god.

We’re introducing separate rooms with double beds in all of our planes so people can actually go with their partner and have a proper night’s sleep.

I know there’s a farmer out there somewhere who never wants a PC and that’s fine with me.

I have a great deal of company in the house, especially in the morning when nobody calls.

Whenever something went wrong when I was young – if I had a pimple or if my hair broke – my mom would say, ‚Sister mine, I’m going to make you some soup.‘ And I really thought the soup would make my pimple go away or my hair stronger.

All men’s miseries derive from not being able to sit in a quiet room alone.

Every man prefers belief to the exercise of judgment.

Working conditions for me have always been those of the monastic life: solitude and frugality. Except for frugality, they are contrary to my nature, so much so that work is a violence I do to myself.

To describe my scarce leisure time in today’s terms, I always default to reading.

The land created me. I’m wild and lonesome. Even as I travel the cities, I’m more at home in the vacant lots.

I guess there is nothing that will get your mind off everything like golf. I have never been depressed enough to take up the game, but they say you get so sore at yourself you forget to hate your enemies.

Knowing that the time to sleep has come, the Lord sleeps, and does well in sleeping. Often, when we have been fretting and worrying, we should have glorified God far more had we literally gone to sleep.

I love sleep; it’s my favorite.

I am particularly drawn to the form of meditation called Japa. I know it works.

When I retire I’m going to spend my evenings by the fireplace going through those boxes. There are things in there that ought to be burned.

I am alone; I am always alone no matter what.

Every time I get in the McLaren I feel more comfortable, my confidence increases and I feel more at home with the team.

Things in themselves have no life in them. A car can’t comfort or encourage you. A house means nothing if there’s no life and love inside.

Total relaxation is the secret to enjoying sitting meditation. I sit with my spine upright, but not rigid; and I relax all the muscles in my body.

A scholar who cherishes the love of comfort is not fit to be deemed a scholar.

I first found delight in the Sabbath many years ago when, as a busy surgeon, I knew that the Sabbath became a day for personal healing. By the end of each week, my hands were sore from repeatedly scrubbing them with soap, water, and a bristle brush. I also needed a breather from the burden of a demanding profession.

There’s love, and certainly children you care about more than yourself. But nevertheless, we’re alone in our heads.

My head’s never really quiet. The only time I can get it to turn off is if I watch ‚CSI‘ or ‚Law & Order,‘ where I have to follow the crime. If I can’t turn my head off during that, I know I’ve really got a problem.

Every man has a right to a Saturday night bath.

War is a way of shattering to pieces… materials which might otherwise be used to make the masses too comfortable and… too intelligent.

You can’t get a cup of tea big enough or a book long enough to suit me.

It is not necessary that you leave the house. Remain at your table and listen. Do not even listen, only wait. Do not even wait, be wholly still and alone. The world will present itself to you for its unmasking, it can do no other, in ecstasy it will writhe at your feet.

What a nice night for an evening.

The soul that sees beauty may sometimes walk alone.

Running started as a way of relaxing. It’s the only time I have to myself. No phones or e-mails or faxes.

Ah, mon cher, for anyone who is alone, without God and without a master, the weight of days is dreadful.

The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.

I am proud to have been born in Iowa. Through the eyes of a ten-year-old boy, it was a place of adventure and daily discoveries – the wonder of the growing crops, the excitements of the harvest, the journeys to the woods for nuts and hunting, the joys of snowy winters, the comfort of the family fireside, of good food and tender care.

If we depend for our happiness on another, on society or on environment, they become essential to us; we cling to them, and any alteration of these we violently oppose because we depend upon them for our psychological security and comfort.

It’s an offseason. These days are valuable for everybody.

I’ve lived in a big showplace house, and I never want to live again in a house that overshadows me.

When you wash your hands, when you make a cup of coffee, when you’re waiting for the elevator – instead of indulging in thinking, these are all opportunities for being there as a still, alert presence.

I make decisions all day, so it’s nice for a woman like me to go to dinner and have the man take the menu and say, ‚Let me order.‘ Other women would be offended by that, but I’m like, ‚Good. Because I can’t make one more decision today.‘ I want someone to rub my feet without being asked.

I have no trouble sleeping.

The purpose of a vacation is to have the time to rest. But many of us, even when we go on vacation, don’t know how to rest. We may even come back more tired than before we left.

The bourgeois prefers comfort to pleasure, convenience to liberty, and a pleasant temperature to the deathly inner consuming fire.

Only by going alone in silence, without baggage, can one truly get into the heart of the wilderness. All other travel is mere dust and hotels and baggage and chatter.

Comfort and prosperity have never enriched the world as much as adversity has.

There is a piece of me that likes to fondly imagine my maverick and rebellious nature. But, more accurately, I like to have a nice and cosy institution that I can rub up against a little bit.

Don’t run if you can walk. Don’t walk if you can stand. Don’t stand if you can sit. Don’t sit if you can lie down.

I like being comfortable at airports, in flip-flops with no jewelry on.

I don’t have a need for speed. I’m not that guy.

Writing is a solitary experience. I’m extremely superstitious. If I talk about the book or name the title out loud before finishing, I feel the energy I need to write will be drained. It’s so intimate, I can’t even share it with my wife.