"There is a vitality, a life force, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique. If you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is; nor how valuable it is; nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours, clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep open and aware directly to the urges that motivate YOU. Keep the channel open." --Martha Graham |
| "Safe upon the solid rock the ugly houses stand; Come and see my shining palace built upon the sand." -- Edna St. Vincent Millay |
| "Like Magellan, let us find our islands to die in, Far from home, from anywhere familiar. Let us risk the wildest places, Lest we go down in comfort and despair." -- Mary Oliver (From "Magellan") |
"REAL isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse to the Velveteen Rabbit. "It's a thing that happens to you. It doesn't happen all at once. You become. It takes a long time. Generally, by the time you |
"The bohemian life is a struggle, and retreat is always one strategy. A good one, too. One moves laterally along the skirmish line, probing for opportunities, and one never struggles beyond the point of exhaustion. One learns to pull back and rest and loll about and consult one's soul in a safe place. When you feel shaky, as you do now, you should not berate yourself with accusations of weakness. We are artists, not NFL linemen. The work of an artist is to be open to what one is given to do and do it joyfully and elegantly and move on. We're receptors of impulses in the air and snatches of music and bits of stories. We're not to punish ourselves if we don't perform with industrial efficiency to produce salable goods. Enjoy your love and your life. You have plenty of courage. " -- Garrison Keillor |
"Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and then go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive." --Reverend Dr. Howard Thurman |