Pico Iyer: I think writing is really about a journey of understanding. So you take something that seems very far away and the more you write about it, the more you travel into it and you see it from within.
I sometimes think that so much of our life takes place inside our heads in memory or imagination or interpretation or speculation — that if I really want to change my life, I might best begin by changing my mind.
A WRITER IS A PALMIST — READING THE LINES OF THE PLANET.
The less you struggle with problem — the more it’s likely to solve itself. The less time you spend frantically running’s around — the more productive you are likely to be.
We can’t change the world except insofar as we change the way we look at the world — and, in fact, any one of us can make that change, in any direction, at any time.
NO THOUGHT CAN EXIST WITHOUT A SUSTAINING SUPPORT.
All language has hidden agendas & motives. The first thing that power corrupts is language. Mel Bochner
IF IT ISN’T FUNNY — IT ISN’T ART. Charlie Chaplin
It is art that makes life, makes interest, makes importance. Henry James
WE LEARN OUR SEXUAL PREFERENCES AND ORIENTATIONS.
Virginia Johnson
RELIGION IS ALL BUNK. Thomas A. Edison
FEAR is the basis of what everybody does wrong in their lives. Elaine Stritch
YOU’VE GOT TO GO OUT OF YOUR MIND TO USE YOUR HEAD. Gerd Stern
From the days of John the Baptist until now, The kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent bear it away. Matthew 11:12
Earth is too small
for the spirit. Too cramped
where dwelling is but hunching
(the trenches of self-elevations)
Vasyl Stus
HER WHIMSY WAS INFECTIOUS.
Scarlett Johansson about SNL photographer Mary Ellen Matthews
Drawing is the most crucial pathway to understanding in art and is the common bond between the disciplines of painting and sculpture. Graham Nickson
If you are at one with your body — then you are at one with yourself.
Margaux Hemingway
It is through gratitude for the present moment that the spiritual dimension of life opens up. Eckhart Tolle
SMILE in the mirror. Do that every morning & you’ll start to see a big difference in your life. You change the world by being yourself. Yoko Ono
ATTENTION IS THE RAREST & PUREST FORM OF GENEROSITY. Simone Weil
MICHAEL PALIN: “You’ve got to maintain that ability to make yourself laugh and make others laugh in whatever circumstances. To remain as silly as possible is quite important to me. People ask me, “What due you want on your tombstone?” I want one that says, “Gone to lunch.” To be silly after I’m dead — that’s quite important, I think.” New York Times February 9, 2025
CURIOSITY WILL CONQUER FEAR EVEN MORE THAN BRAVEY WILL.
James Stephens
FROM the outside my life may look chaotic but inside I feel like some kind of monk licking an ice cream cone while straddling a runaway horse. Tom Robbins