Pico Iyer

Such a good question, Terry. And again, I've often felt guilty about presuming upon their hospitality as somebody who doesn't share their faith and embarrassed that I haven't made a commitment. And although I never made a full-time commitment of the extraordinary kind they have... I think, as I say, watching their example was what moved me to make a commitment in the world to my wife and my kids.

Such a good question, Terry. And again, I've often felt guilty about presuming upon their hospitality as somebody who doesn't share their faith and embarrassed that I haven't made a commitment. And although I never made a full-time commitment of the extraordinary kind they have... I think, as I say, watching their example was what moved me to make a commitment in the world to my wife and my kids.

Such a good question, Terry. And again, I've often felt guilty about presuming upon their hospitality as somebody who doesn't share their faith and embarrassed that I haven't made a commitment. And although I never made a full-time commitment of the extraordinary kind they have... I think, as I say, watching their example was what moved me to make a commitment in the world to my wife and my kids.

And although I am a secular person, I feel that the most important thing in life is one's inner life. No good having a car if there isn't an engine. And 600 years ago, Meister Eckhart, the wise German mystic said, as long as the inner work is strong, the outer will never be puny.

And although I am a secular person, I feel that the most important thing in life is one's inner life. No good having a car if there isn't an engine. And 600 years ago, Meister Eckhart, the wise German mystic said, as long as the inner work is strong, the outer will never be puny.

And although I am a secular person, I feel that the most important thing in life is one's inner life. No good having a car if there isn't an engine. And 600 years ago, Meister Eckhart, the wise German mystic said, as long as the inner work is strong, the outer will never be puny.

As long as you take care of the inner landscape, your relationships, your career, your understanding of yourself will take care of themselves. And so even though I am secular, I'm happy to dissolve distinctions between what is sacred and secular because I think all of us crave an inner life, wisdom, depth, intimacy.

As long as you take care of the inner landscape, your relationships, your career, your understanding of yourself will take care of themselves. And so even though I am secular, I'm happy to dissolve distinctions between what is sacred and secular because I think all of us crave an inner life, wisdom, depth, intimacy.

As long as you take care of the inner landscape, your relationships, your career, your understanding of yourself will take care of themselves. And so even though I am secular, I'm happy to dissolve distinctions between what is sacred and secular because I think all of us crave an inner life, wisdom, depth, intimacy.

And some people find it through their devotion to a particular divinity or a particular faith. Some of us find it in other ways. The important thing is to find it and not to get lost in the swirl of our accelerated world where we're just racing from thing to thing and never can really have access to the larger picture.

And some people find it through their devotion to a particular divinity or a particular faith. Some of us find it in other ways. The important thing is to find it and not to get lost in the swirl of our accelerated world where we're just racing from thing to thing and never can really have access to the larger picture.

And some people find it through their devotion to a particular divinity or a particular faith. Some of us find it in other ways. The important thing is to find it and not to get lost in the swirl of our accelerated world where we're just racing from thing to thing and never can really have access to the larger picture.

And I think that's where fires sometimes come into the picture because they humble us like earthquakes and flash floods and typhoons and remind us how tiny we are and in some ways how powerless we are. And my Benedictine friends would say that's an act of God. That's reminding us that we are tiny mortals in the hand of a divinity.

And I think that's where fires sometimes come into the picture because they humble us like earthquakes and flash floods and typhoons and remind us how tiny we are and in some ways how powerless we are. And my Benedictine friends would say that's an act of God. That's reminding us that we are tiny mortals in the hand of a divinity.

And I think that's where fires sometimes come into the picture because they humble us like earthquakes and flash floods and typhoons and remind us how tiny we are and in some ways how powerless we are. And my Benedictine friends would say that's an act of God. That's reminding us that we are tiny mortals in the hand of a divinity.

But even those who don't use that language would say it just reminds us that there are all these forces that are much huger than we are. And humanity is not the center of the picture or the end of the story.

But even those who don't use that language would say it just reminds us that there are all these forces that are much huger than we are. And humanity is not the center of the picture or the end of the story.

But even those who don't use that language would say it just reminds us that there are all these forces that are much huger than we are. And humanity is not the center of the picture or the end of the story.

I do. I especially feel the sense that I and my neighbors are living where humans were never meant to live. And what you quickly learn in a landscape such as ours is that the landscape can't flourish without fire. It needs fire as a kind of replenishing, regenerating agent. The Californian hills couldn't survive without fire. So our question as humans is how are we going to survive with fire?

I do. I especially feel the sense that I and my neighbors are living where humans were never meant to live. And what you quickly learn in a landscape such as ours is that the landscape can't flourish without fire. It needs fire as a kind of replenishing, regenerating agent. The Californian hills couldn't survive without fire. So our question as humans is how are we going to survive with fire?