Being an artist means, not reckoning and counting,
but ripening like the tree which does not force its sap
and stands confident in the storms of spring
without the fear that after them may come no summer.
It does come. But it comes only to the patient,
who are there as though eternity lay before them,
so unconcernedly still and wide.
I learn it daily, learn it with pain
to which I am grateful: patience is everything!
Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters to a Young Poet
Language is courage:
the ability to conceive a thought,
to speak it, and by doing so to make it true.
Salman Rushdie, The Satanic Verses
Life is not always a matter of holding good cards,
but sometimes, playing a poor hand well.
Dan Millman, Sacred Journey of the Peaceful Warrior
One of the secrets of a happy life
is continuous small treats,
and if some of these can be inexpensive
and quickly procured so much the better.
Iris Murdoch, The Sea, the Sea
I object to being told that I am saving daylight
when my reason tells me that I am doing nothing of the kind...
At the back of the Daylight Saving scheme,
I detect the bony, blue-fingered hand of Puritanism,
eager to push people into bed earlier, and get them up earlier,
to make them healthy, wealthy, and wise in spite of themselves.
Robertson Davies, The Papers of Samuel Marchbanks
Join the union, girls,
and together say
Equal Pay for Equal Work.
Susan B. Anthony, The Revolution