Two Thoughts (1 - 14 December)
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Sunday, 1 December
Two thoughts from Gérard de Nerval
"The key to success is simple. Make people dream."
"The enthusiasm of old men is singularly like that of infancy."
Monday, 2 December
Two thoughts from Anatole Broyard
“The contents of someone’s bookcase are part of his history, like an ancestral portrait.”
“We don’t simply read books. We become them.”
Tuesday, 3 December
Two thoughts from Yousuf Karsh
"Character, like a photograph, develops in darkness."
"I have found that great people do have in common. ..an immense belief in themselves and in their mission. They also have great determination as well as an ability to work hard."
Wednesday, 4 December
Two thoughts from Howard Bloom
"Humans test their brand new wings and invent new possibilities using new-fangled things not with grim determination, but with play."
"Look at things right under your nose as if you've never seen them before, then proceed from there."
Thursday, 5 December
Two thoughts from Vincent van Gogh
“I am always doing what I cannot do yet, in order to learn how to do it.”
“What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?”
Friday, 6 December
Two thoughts from Annie Besant
“Thought creates character. Character can dominate conditions. Will creates circumstances and environment.”
“There is no life without consciousness; there is no consciousness without life.”
Saturday, 7 December
Two thoughts from Bob Marley
“Open your eyes, look within. Are you satisfied with the life you’re living?”
"Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery
None but ourselves can free our minds."
Sunday, 8 December
Two thoughts from Brian Doyle
“Life is a verb, life swerves and lurches no matter how cautious and careful your driving.”
“Is this why we write and read, in the end, in order to find new words for the things we feel but do not have words for?”
Monday, 9 December
Two thoughts from Elaine Pagels
“Many of us, wishing to be spared hard work, gladly accept what tradition teaches. But the fact that we have no simple answer does not mean that we can evade the question.”
“It is the winners who write history – their way.”
Tuesday, 10 December
Two thoughts from Sean O'Casey
"All the world's a stage and most of us are desperately unrehearsed."
"There's nothing so passionate as a vested interest disguised as an intellectual conviction."
Wednesday, 11 December
Two thoughts from Clifford Odets
"There are 43,000 minutes in a month - can't you give me five?"
"Music is the great cheer-up in the language of all countries."
Thursday, 12 December
Two thoughts from Ruth Benedict
"We do not see the lens through which we look."
"No man ever looks at the world with pristine eyes. He sees it edited by a definite set of customs and institutions and ways of thinking."
Friday, 13 December
Two thoughts from William Burroughs
“If you build a good name, eventually, that name will be its own currency.”
“Happiness is a byproduct of function, purpose, and conflict; those who seek happiness for itself seek victory without war.”
Saturday, 14 December
Two thoughts from John Taylor Gatto
“You either learn your way towards writing your own script in life, or you unwittingly become an actor in someone else’s script.”
“Nobody gives you an education. If you want one, you have to take it.”
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dear jim,
lots of great quotes this week! here are some of my faves:
Anatole Broyard: “We don’t simply read books. We become them.”
Yousuf Karsh: "Character, like a photograph, develops in darkness."
Howard Bloom: "Look at things right under your nose as if you've never seen them before, then proceed from there."
Sean O'Casey: "There's nothing so passionate as a vested interest disguised as an intellectual conviction."
Clifford Odets: "Music is the great cheer-up in the language of all countries."
Ruth Benedict: "We do not see the lens through which we look."
John Taylor Gatto: “Nobody gives you an education. If you want one, you have to take it.”
thanks for giving me this education! i'll take it!
love
myq