Gordon Livingston

One description of humans is "the animals that laugh." This could, of course, be yet another of our conceits. (Perhaps the dogs are laughing at us and we just don't get the joke.) But I think it is probable that we are unique among the creatures of the earth in our ability to appreciate our mortality and to choose how seriously to take ourselves.

There are many forms of grace — physical, intellectual, social, spiritual — each of them amazing in its own way. But to cope with inevitable loss, to face life in all its confusion and absurdity and still retain the capacity for joy, laughter, and a belief that our struggles have meaning — this is to prevail.