Yanni in words

..”As a rule I also avoid the establishment. I don’t follow schools of thought. I’m open enough to study any religion, to go to temples, churches, and mosques, and to listen to ideas. There’s beauty in every path. Buddhists believe that there are as many paths to Enlightenment as you care to take. I’m not Buddhist, but I like that concept.”

..”Yet like my father I’m also a recluse and a monk, the deep thinker who can’t be social for long periods; then I can be as boisterous and obnoxious as the next guy.
Now that I’m older the quieter part dominates.”

..”To tell you the truth, I’ve never heard my parents lash out at or openly bad-mouth anyone. Sure, they get upset sometimes, but they release that stuff quickly. Two minutes, and then it’s gone. My mom lives with love. She will find any excuse to explain why someone acts strangely, or badly, and she always allows for their redemption. Same with my dad. He doesn’t dwell on the negative. He is optimistic and trusts the future. Whenever I had problems, or struggled with a situation, he’d say, “You’re smart enough and strong enough to take care of it, so fix it. You will survive and move on, and it won’t happen again because you’ll learn from experience. Keep your eyes open. See what happens. Analyze. Be truthful with yourself.”

Linda Evans once told me that this parental love – she called it “allowing” – goes to the core of my being, that I have a trust in life that carries me everywhere. If that’s true – and I think it is – then I am one of the lucky ones. My trust is not stupidity or foolishness. I see the same stinkers ans slimeballs everyone else sees. The music business certainly has its share. I have been nicked, but I haven’t been cut badly. People have lied to me, stolen from me, taken advantage of me, but I’ve never gone back to get even – even if I’ve wanted to. I just got smarter and learned to see it coming. I thanked them for the lesson and moved on.”

“One of his most important gifts to the family was an apprecitation of nature and of doing things outdoors. In the winter he would come home tired from the bank, but instead of taking the traditional afternoon nap we would walk, maybe three miles a day. He’d introduce us to the flowers and the trees and tell us a story about an animal; we’d discuss the weather, the clouds. What are thunderstorms, where do they come from, how do they work? If there was any way to feed us outside instead of on a table indoors, my parents would do that. Sometimes they would rent a rowboat, take us out on the bay, and eat there.”

“The real lesson here is one that my father taught us over and over in every way possible: The most important battles is the one to conquer yourself. You’ve got to overcome pain and discomfort and control your urges. Learn how to rein in your desires. This wasn’t about sexuality or morality; his advice was purely practical.

He told us not to overeat, to learn about vitamins and exercise. Your body hurts because you’re working out? That’s okay. It’s a good thing. Trust me; you’ll be very happy later in life because you won’t have the same health problems as your friends.