"Life isn't as long as you think it is. You have a choice: You can go and try to live a playful life, or you can go and live a life which excludes playfulness. And it doesn't get you anywhere. Playfulness gets you somewhere."
–– Hans Zimmer (b. 1957), German-born American film score composer and music producer
Source: Austin Kleon newsletter Friday April 19, 2024.
via: Art Alternatives Knapsack Sketchbook L 2024, p. 12.
"The writer studies literature, not the world. He lives in the world; he cannot miss it. He is careful of that he reads, for that is what he will write. He is careful of what he learns, because that is what he will know."
– Annie Dillard (b. 1945), American writer
via: Commonplace Book 1999-2001, 2003.
"As we are liberated from our fear, our presence automatically liberates others."
–– Nelson Mandela (1918-2013), South African anti-apartheid activist, politician, South Africa's first Black president (1994-1999), winner of the Nobel Peace Prize 1993
via: Commonplace Book 1999-2001, 2002.
"No is the widest word we consign to language."
–– Emily Dickinson (1830-1886), American poet
via: Commonplace Book 1999-2001, 2002.
"Be as light as a bird, not as a feather."
–– Italo Calvino (1923-1985), Cuban-born Italian author and journalist
via: Commonplace Book 1999-2001, 2002.
"Carl Jung said that people are more frightened of their strengths than they are of their weaknesses. If we knew how good we are, Jung believed, we'd have to act on our potential."
–– Harriet Rubin (b. 1952), American writer
Source: Harriet Rubin. Soloing: Realizing Your Life's Ambition. New York: Harper Business, 1999; p. 80.
"The patterns of our lives reveal us. Our habits measure us."
–– Mary Oliver (1935-2019), American poet
