However awful the state of the world, more people are living longer, healthier and probably happier lives now than ever

I have deep faith in incompatible truths, in complexity and an instinctive resistance to childish tales of good and evil

The works of the 18th century author are about so much more than love, exploring female friendship, power struggles and survival in a patriarchal society

People tend to behave worse at home, among family, than with friends and colleagues

The idea that we would deliquesce into slothfulness without the whips of capitalism is untested but probably untrue

I am generally of the view that children should learn and adults should practise a clear articulation of needs and desires

The night silence of the country is thick and deep, not so much broken as amplified by the occasional call of an owl or fox

Many tasks extend to fill the time available but if you start work on Christmas months in advance, it will take months

Don’t live in an area of high air pollution; avoid the chemicals on this list; buy an electric car: insidious messaging sells us individual solutions to structural problems

Call me a killjoy but I am disturbed by the sight of plastic bones in plastic chains

We shouldn’t live every day as if it were our last because then the bathroom would never be cleaned, the bills never paid, the homework never done

There is a fruitful ground between scarcity and excess, in which intelligence and creativity make rich use of limited resources

We contain multitudes. We don’t have to be afraid of ambiguity and difficulty

You can have your own reason for doing what you’re doing - just know what it is

I feel vulnerable or uncomfortable but I’m not alone. Other people are like me, even if none of them is here