Borrowing Wisdom: May 2012

Shane Portman: "When I was a child..."

"When I was a child, I remember feeling very much like I do now: that the world is full of unanswered questions. Back then, when I was read bedtime stories and tucked in, I felt safe. And even excited about all the questions that lay in the dark. And I truly think we can get there again."

–Shane Portman, my college friend and the author of a new book called Allister Cromley's Fairweather Belle, Bedtime Stories for Grown Ups to Tell (a collection of stories that encourages grown ups to read aloud to each other)

Ralph Waldo Emerson: "Most of the shadows..."

"Most of the shadows in this life are caused by our standing in our own sunshine."

–Ralph Waldo Emerson

Wendy Mass: "Mankind is the eye..."

"Mankind is the eye through which the spirit of God views his or her creation. Let us today, on this beautiful Sunday morning, be vessels through which we can see the infinite. For there rests our true natures. We are spiritual beings having an earthly life. When our life here is done, we return to the source. What is life? Life is love. Do not make the mistake of thinking loving is easy; it is not. We must love ourselves, not just other people. We must be awake. Do not sleepwalk through your life. Enjoy it fully, because none of us gets out of here alive."

–Wendy Mass, Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life

Wendy Mass: "An old man is teaching..."

An old man is teaching his grandson about life.

"A fight is going on inside me," he said to the boy. "It is a terrible fight, and it is between two wolves. One wolf is evil. He is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego. The other wolf is good. He is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. This same fight is going on inside you - and inside every other person, too."

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, "Which wolf will win?"

The old man replied simply, "The one you feed."

–Wendy Mass, Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life

Freidrich Nietzsche: "There is always some..."

"There is always some madness in love. But there is also always some reason in madness."

–Friedrich Nietzsche

Daniel Quinn: "That's not good enough..."

"That’s not good enough. The fact that something is not a waste of time does not inspire me to do it."

–Daniel Quinn, Ishmael

Daniel Quinn: "It isn't the tale..."

"It isn’t the tale you tell that counts, it’s the way you actually live."

–Daniel Quinn, Ishmael

Daniel Quinn: "If you are still..."

"If you are still then you will be better able to hear."

–Daniel Quinn, Ishmael

Daniel Quinn: "Mere acquaintanceship leaves me..."

"Mere acquaintanceship leaves me unsatisfied, and few people are willing to accept the burdens and risks of friendship."

–Daniel Quinn, Ishmael

Daniel Quinn: "To a mind ready..."

"To a mind ready for mythology, he was the beginning of what is meant by godlike. He had twice made a brief appearance in my life – and twice, with a single utterance, had transformed me."

–Daniel Quinn, Ishmael

Dave Eggers: "You couldn't measure it..."

"You couldn't measure it. You could say it was worth nothing - or you could say millions - and both would make sense."

–Dave Eggers, You Shall Know Our Velocity

Dave Eggers: "This is the truth..."

"This is the truth, and it's either unromantic or infinitely more romantic than you can imagine."

–Dave Eggers, You Shall Know Our Velocity

Dave Eggers: "Wait until you're older..."

"Wait until you’re older to try something like this – a lot older, I think - but then don’t wait much longer… I can’t believe we waited so long ourselves."

–Dave Eggers, You Shall Know Our Velocity

Dave Eggers: "Oh, to live among..."

"Oh, to live among peacocks. I’d seen them once in person and they defied so many laws of color and gravity that they had to be mad geniuses waiting to take over everything."

–Dave Eggers, You Shall Know Our Velocity

Dave Eggers: "Your job is to..."

"Your job is to be human. First, be human."

–Dave Eggers, You Shall Know Our Velocity

Dave Eggers: "He had calm where..."

"He had calm where I had chaos and wisdom where I had just a huge gaping always-moving mouth."

–Dave Eggers, You Shall Know Our Velocity

John Wesley: "Do all the good..."

Do all the good you can,
In all the ways you can,
To all the souls you can,
In every place you can,
At all the times you can,
With all the zeal you can,
As long as you ever can.

–John Wesley

Hart & Kaufman: "Art is only achieved..."

"Art is only achieved through perspiration... but it helps if you've got a little talent with it."

–Moss Hart & George S. Kaufman, You Can't Take It With You (Kolenkhov & Grandpa)

Hart & Kaufman: "Oh, the world's not..."

Grandpa: "Oh, the world's not so crazy... It's the people in it. Life's pretty simple if you just relax... Life is kind of beautiful if you let it come to you. But the trouble is, people forget that."

–Moss Hart & George S. Kaufman, You Can't Take It With You (Grandpa's point of view)

Hart & Kaufman: "I'd follow you to..."

Tony: "I'd follow you to the end of the earth."
Alice: "Oh, just the kitchen is enough."

–Moss Hart & George S. Kaufman, You Can't Take It With You (Tony & Alice, the young lovers)

Hart & Kaufman: "Well, Sir, here we are..."

Grandpa: "Well, Sir, we've been getting along pretty good for quite a while now, and we're certainly much obliged. Remember, all we ask is to just go along and be happy in our own sort of way. Of course, we want to keep our health but as far as anything else is concerned, we'll leave it to You. Thank You." (Act I)

Grandpa: "Well, Sir, here we are again. We want to say thanks once more for everything You've done for us. Things seem to be going along fine... We've all got our health and as far as anything else is concerned we'll leave it to You. Thank You." (Act III)

–Moss Hart & George S. Kaufman, You Can't Take It With You (Grandpa's graces before dinner)

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