"It's murder to doubt yourself in life. It took until I was 45 to get to that point. As hard as it is in your work, it's harder in your life. But it can be done."

"I had this sense that I didn’t exist. My parents were wonderful people in many ways, but they weren’t affectionate. I don’t remember ever being touched by either one. I felt ignored to the point where I didn’t even exist—so acting was my lifeline to not feeling like I was being obliterated. For many years, the only place I felt alive was on stage."

"Beethoven used to be a heroin injection for me. Jazz, the same. The great novels, the same. I could not conceive of going through a day without reading great literature or listening to great music. Now it’s mostly an assault. Living in silence. Looking at the garden. Having a relationship with trees and flowers and the sky. That’s what’s profound to me now."

~Alan Wolf Arkin (March 26, 1934 – June 29, 2023)
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcsMy6LFwqw