My parents had an arranged marriage as did so many other people when I was growing up. My father came and had a life in the United States one way and my mother had a different one and I was very aware of those things. I continue to wonder about it and I will continue to write about it.

I remember a specific moment watching my grandmother hang the clothes on the line and her saying to me 'you are going to have to learn to do this ' and me being in that space of awareness and knowing that my life would not be the same as my grandmother's life.

The ultimate value of life depends upon awareness and the power of contemplation rather than upon mere survival.

The aim of life is to live and to live means to be aware joyously drunkenly serenely divinely aware.

My daughter the one who lives nearby is raising her children to be very much aware. We went on a nature walk on Monday I'm learning so much from her.

I grew up listening to Jay-Z and I think the first time I really became obsessed with learning and thinking about lyrics was when I started listening to rap I was 11 12 and started becoming aware of music beyond the familiar.

Also the more you're not focused on showbiz and instead focused on life learning about other people and keeping your eyes open and trying to be aware of the world.

People need to be made more aware of the need to work at learning how to live because life is so quick and sometimes it goes away too quickly.

These things will destroy the human race: politics without principle progress without compassion wealth without work learning without silence religion without fearlessness and worship without awareness.

What nourishes us at home and in school is what inspires us. When we get awareness and learn about the great potential that we all human beings have we are able to discover our leadership.