Far more people have enjoyed Jane Austen's work on television than will ever read her books.
Indeed, in the present climate of mistrust of institutions, many people who yearn for a more meaningful and fulfilling life would regard the church as an unlikely place to go for guidance.
Reading is a huge effort for many people, a bore for others, and, believe it or not, many people prefer watching TV.
With increasing frequency and growing vehemence, you hear people saying they are ashamed to be Australians.
Nothing is perfect. Life is messy. Relationships are complex. Outcomes are uncertain. People are irrational.
Recounting their histories, people often sound like interested bystanders to their own lives.
I wish we didn't have to own up to a policy deliberately designed to inflict suffering on people who have already been traumatised in the countries from which they've fled.
Perhaps it's the people whose lives have taken sudden new twists - people who have learned to embrace the creative possibilities of change - who stand the best chance of penetrating life's mysteries.