07/23/09

I write quickly, but I also do not believe in writer's block, because once I didn't have the luxury of believing it. When you only have 20 minutes, you write, whether it's garbage, or it's good … you just do it, and you fix it later. -Jodi Picoult

07/21/09

Sometimes we spend more time than we should defending the old thing, instead of working to take advantage of the new thing. -Seth Godin

07/20/09

I think we're going to the moon because it's in the nature of the human being to face challenges. It's by the nature of his deep inner soul... we're required to do these things just as salmon swim upstream. -Neil Armstrong

07/17/09

Let us not underestimate how hard it is to be compassionate. Compassion is hard because it requires the inner disposition to go with others to the place where they are weak, vulnerable, lonely, and broken. But this is not our spontaneous response to suffering. What we desire most is to do away with suffering by fleeing from it or finding a quick cure for it. As busy, active, relevant ministers, we want to earn our bread by making a real contribution. This means first and foremost doing something to show that our presence makes a difference. And so we ignore our greatest gift, which is our ability to enter into solidarity with those who suffer. Those who can sit in silence with their fellowman, not knowing what to say but knowing that they should be there, can bring new life in a dying heart. Those who are not afraid to hold a hand in gratitude, to shed tears in grief and to let a sigh of distress arise straight from the heart can break through paralyzing boundaries and witness the birth of a new fellowship, the fellowship of the broken. -Henri Nouwen

07/16/09

We can't see the hidden flaws until we change our way of seeing. -Peter Elbow

07/15/09

Imagination grows by exercise, and contrary to common belief, is more powerful in the mature than in the young. -W. Somerset Maugham

07/14/09

The current state of knowledge is a moment in history, changing just as rapidly as the state of knowledge in the past has ever changed and, in many instances, more rapidly. -Jean Piaget

07/13/09

Nothing can be taught unless it has the potential of making sense to the learner... -Frank Smith

07/10/09

Good dreams don't come cheap, you've got to pay for them and If you just dream when you're asleep this is no way for them to come alive... to survive. -Harry Chapin

07/09/09

Seize the moment of excited curiosity on any subject to solve your doubts; for if you let it pass, the desire may never return, and you may remain in ignorance. -William Wirt

07/08/09

A story untold could be the one that kills you. -Pat Conroy

07/07/09

We should be taught not to wait for inspiration to start a thing. Action always generates inspiration. Inspiration seldom generates action. -Frank Tibolt

07/06/09

That's very nice if they want to publish you, but don't pay too much attention to it. It will toss you away. Just continue to write. -Natalie Goldberg 

07/03/09

You can know the name of a bird in all the languages of the world, but when you're finished, you'll know absolutely nothing whatever about the bird... So let's look at the bird and see what it's doing -- that's what counts. I learned very early the difference between knowing the name of something and knowing something. -Richard Feynman

07/02/09

Tears of joy are like the summer rain drops pierced by sunbeams. -Hosea Ballou

07/01/09

We have been taught to believe that negative equals realistic and positive equals unrealistic. -Susan Jeffers