To smarmy people who say they always learn more from their students than they teach: Maybe you should do a better job of teaching.

On the motorcycle last month, it occurred to me that I'm rarely thrown off when good things come to me or when bad things befall me. On the motorcycle, I noticed that I received the problematic sight of rain clouds out of nowhere with the same almost entirely unemotional calm as when, thoroughly rain pelted, I saw blue sky in the distance.

You get laid off. Your team wins the Stanley Cup. Your mother dies. Your book is published. The repair is going to cost $2,500. Your wife is pregnant.

You take in the news calmly. You are pretty good at handling shit. At least, I am.

My dad used to say we'd worry less about what others think of us if we realized how seldom they do.

In that vein, I think we'd be a lot more forgiving of others if we realized how forgiving they're forced to be, of us.