“Go, children. Run and read. Read and run. Show and tell.”
― Zen in the Art of Writing: Releasing the Creative Genius Within You
― Zen in the Art of Writing: Releasing the Creative Genius Within You
“I don’t know if I’ve learned anything yet! I did learn how to have a happy home, but I consider myself fortunate in that regard because I could’ve rolled right by it. Everybody has a superficial side and a deep side, but this culture doesn’t place much value on depth — we don’t have shamans or soothsayers, and depth isn’t encouraged or understood. Surrounded by this shallow, glossy society we develop a shallow side, too, and we become attracted to fluff. That’s reflected in the fact that this culture sets up an addiction to romance based on insecurity — the uncertainty of whether or not you’re truly united with the object of your obsession is the rush people get hooked on. I’ve seen this pattern so much in myself and my friends and some people never get off that line.
But along with developing my superficial side, I always nurtured a deeper longing, so even when I was falling into the trap of that other kind of love, I was hip to what I was doing. I recently read an article in Esquire magazine called ‘The End of Sex,’ that said something that struck me as very true. It said: “If you want endless repetition, see a lot of different people. If you want infinite variety, stay with one.” What happens when you date is you run all your best moves and tell all your best stories — and in a way, that routine is a method for falling in love with yourself over and over.
You can’t do that with a longtime mate because he knows all that old material. With a long relationship, things die then are rekindled, and that shared process of rebirth deepens the love. It’s hard work, though, and a lot of people run at the first sign of trouble. You’re with this person, and suddenly you look like an asshole to them or they look like an asshole to you — it’s unpleasant, but if you can get through it you get closer and you learn a way of loving that’s different from the neurotic love enshrined in movies. It’s warmer and has more padding to it.”
―
But along with developing my superficial side, I always nurtured a deeper longing, so even when I was falling into the trap of that other kind of love, I was hip to what I was doing. I recently read an article in Esquire magazine called ‘The End of Sex,’ that said something that struck me as very true. It said: “If you want endless repetition, see a lot of different people. If you want infinite variety, stay with one.” What happens when you date is you run all your best moves and tell all your best stories — and in a way, that routine is a method for falling in love with yourself over and over.
You can’t do that with a longtime mate because he knows all that old material. With a long relationship, things die then are rekindled, and that shared process of rebirth deepens the love. It’s hard work, though, and a lot of people run at the first sign of trouble. You’re with this person, and suddenly you look like an asshole to them or they look like an asshole to you — it’s unpleasant, but if you can get through it you get closer and you learn a way of loving that’s different from the neurotic love enshrined in movies. It’s warmer and has more padding to it.”
―
“And when a man talks from his heart, in his moment of truth, he speaks poetry.”
― Zen in The Art of Writing
― Zen in The Art of Writing
Animal Farm Readalong #AnimalFarmReadalong
— 305 members
— last activity Mar 30, 2022 08:08AM
This January, I will be hosting a readalong of George Orwell's classic Animal Farm. Please do join in if you would like to read this book or learn a b ...more
Of Mice and Men Readalong #OfMiceAndMenReadalong
— 257 members
— last activity Jun 06, 2022 04:50AM
This April, I will be hosting a readalong of John Steinbeck's classic Of Mice and Men. Please do join in if you would like to read this book or learn ...more
The Da Vinci Code Readalong #DaVinciCodeReadalong
— 239 members
— last activity Dec 07, 2022 11:54AM
This March, I will be hosting a readalong of Dan Brown's classic The Da Vinci Code. Please do join in if you would like to read this book or learn a b ...more
Lord of the Flies Readalong #LordOfTheFliesReadalong
— 317 members
— last activity Jul 15, 2022 10:16AM
This February, I will be hosting a readalong of William Golding's classic Lord of the Flies. Please do join in if you would like to read this book or ...more
Musicians And Music Lovers
— 1327 members
— last activity May 10, 2026 05:06AM
This is where we will post our videos, and our songs.
Greg’s 2025 Year in Books
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