In no social institution is the codified ritual of behavior more rigid than in funerals. Imagine the indignation if the minister altered his sermon or experimented with facial expression. Consider the shock if, at the funeral parlors, any chairs were used but those little folding yellow torture chairs with the hard seats. No, dying, a man may be loved, hated, mourned, missed; but once dead he becomes the chief ornament of a complicated and formal social celebration. Tortilla Flat

Everyone seems to have a clear idea of how other people should lead their lives, but none about his or her own. The Alchemist

“Everything you say to a person is filtered through his frames of reference, biases, and preconceived ideas.” Surrounded by Idiots

In the morning, when thou art sluggish at rousing thee, let this thought be present; “I am rising to a man’s work.” Meditations