"We are not grand because we are at the top of the food chain or because we can alter our environment - the environment will outlast us with its unfathomable forces and unyielding powers. But rather than be bound and defeated by our insignificance, we are bold because we exercise our will anyway, despite the ephemeral and delicate presence we have in this desert, on this planet, in this universe." Chapter 1, pg. 7

"Over the course of the winter, I learned about the concept of deep play: wherein a person's recreational pursuits carry a gross imbalance of risk and reward. Without the potential for any real or perceived external gain - fortune, glory, fame - a person puts himself into scenarios of real risk and consequence purely for internal benefit: fun and enlightenment." Chapter 4, pg. 94

"You chose to turn away from the women who were there to keep you...