And remember that whatever discipline you are in, whether you are a musician or a photographer, a fine artist or a cartoonist, a writer, a dancer, a designer, whatever you do, you have one thing that’s unique.
You have the ability to make art.
— Neil Gaiman, Art Matters, “Make Good Art”
Photo: Burg Lahneck, Germany, August 22, 2004
So perhaps a better question than “Do I believe in miracles?” is “Am I acting like I do?” Am I including the people who are typically excluded? Am I feeding the hungry and caring for the sick? Am I holding the hands of the homeless and offering help to addicts? Am I working to break down religious and political barriers that marginalize ethnic, religious, and sexual minorities and people with disabilities? Am I behaving as though life is more than a meaningless, chaotic mess, that there is some order in the storm?
— Rachel Held Evans, Inspired, p. 186
Photo: South Riding, Virginia, August 3, 2019
If you don’t know it’s impossible it’s easier to do.
And because nobody’s done it before, they haven’t made up rules to stop anyone doing that again, yet.
— Neil Gaiman, Art Matters, “Make Good Art”
Photo: South Riding, Virginia, July 31, 2019
If you have a deep aspiration, a goal for your life, then your loving of others is part of this aspiration and not a distraction from it. If you and your partner both want to do things to relieve the suffering in this world, then your love for each other is connected to your love for others, and it expands exponentially to cover the whole world.
— Thich Nhat Hanh, How to Love, p. 74
Photo: South Riding, Virginia, July 31, 2019
Living our purpose is one of the keys to finding happiness. Many of us wonder what our purpose is, but our purpose is not really something we do, it is something we are. The more we unfold ourselves, the more we develop ourselves, the more we hear the call to what we truly want to do, the more we find our happiness. Doing what we truly want to do, with integrity, brings us happiness and fulfillment.
— Chuck Spezzano, If It Hurts, It Isn’t Love, p. 320
[Photo: Hug Point, Oregon, November 10, 2015]