Quotes
Even when reading is impossible, the presence of books acquired (by passionate devotion to them) produce such an ecstasy that the buying of more books than one can peradventure read is nothing less than the soul reaching toward infinity… We cherish books even if unread. Their mere presence exudes comfort, their ready access, reassurance.
— A.E. Newton
“The antidote to exhaustion is wholeheartedness.”
— David Whyte
She must find a boat and sail in it. No guarantee of shore. Only a conviction that what she wanted could exist, if she dared find it.
Jeanette Winterson
His religion is buried in the silence of freshly fallen snow, in a carefully crafted cocktail, in between the pages of a book somewhere after the beginning but before the ending.
— Erin Morgenstern, The Starless Sea
The trio finish their final piece of the night, stand, and bow. The audience is on its feet, applauding, begging for more as the musicians humbly exit the stage. Karina wipes the tears from her eyes in between claps, feeling breathless, cracked open, pulsing with desire, and, although she’s not quite sure how, ready to live.
— Lisa Genova, Every Note Played
“The depth of our identity is dependent upon the depth of our attention.”
”The core act of leadership must be the act of making conversations real.”
“The consummation of work lies not only in what we have done, but who we have become while accomplishing the task.”
— David Whyte, Crossing the Unknown Sea
Be ignited or be gone.
— Emily Dickinson
“Jazz seemed a naturally gregarious force- one that was a little unruly and prone to say the first thing that popped into its head, but generally of good humor and friendly intent. In addition, it seemed decidedly unconcerned with where it had been or where it was going- exhibiting somehow simultaneously the confidence of the master and the inexperience of the apprentice. Was there any wonder that such an art had failed to originate in Europe?
— Amor Towles, A Gentleman in Moscow
“I must learn to love the fool in me–the one who feels too much, talks too much, takes too many chances, wins sometimes and loses often, lacks self-control, loves and hates, hurts and gets hurt, promises and breaks promises, laughs and cries. It alone protects me against that utterly self-controlled, masterful tyrant whom I also harbor and who would rob me of human aliveness, humility, and dignity but for my fool.
Theodore I. Rubin, MD”
