For a composer silence is something pregnant with expectation ... the most naturally spiritual medium. The music grows in the spiritual life: the silence of monks, the silence of meditation, the silence of not knowing something, the terrible silence of God when we are confronted with evil in the world. Music has always been intimately connected with the numinous and the immaterial. I increasingly believe that the non-corporeal quality of music can be a direct challenge to the world and its materiality.
Live your life so that the fear of death can never enter your heart. When you arise in the morning, give thanks for your food and the joy of living. And if perchance you see no reason for giving thanks, rest assured the fault is in yourself.