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She understands, too, the loneliness of parenting, which is the loneliness of memory – to know that she connects a future unknowable to her parents with a past unknowable to her child.
“The gilded confines of the Beauty Hall were not my preferred habitat; like the chicken that had laid the eggs for my sandwich, I was more of a free-range creature.”
― Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine
― Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine
“Whatever you do, try not to dwell too long on your failures. You don’t need to conduct autopsies on your disasters.”
― Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear
― Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear
“An abiding stereotype of creativity is that it turns people crazy. I disagree: Not expressing creativity turns people crazy. (“If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you. If you don’t bring forth what is within you, what you don’t bring forth will destroy you.”—Gospel of Thomas.)”
― Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear
― Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear
“We need you to reveal to us what you know, what you have learned, what you have seen and felt. If you are older, chances are strong that you may already possess absolutely everything you need to possess in order to live a more creative life - except the confidence to actually do your work. But we need you to do your work. Whether you are young or old, we need your work in order to enrich and inform our own lives.”
― Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear
― Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear
“So whenever that brittle voice of dissatisfaction emerges within me, I can say "Ah, my ego! There you are, old friend!" It's the same thing when I'm being criticized and I notice myself reaching with outrage, heartache, or defensiveness. It's just my ego, flaring up and testing its power. In such circumstances, I have learned to watch my heated emotions carefully, but I try not to take them too seriously, because I know that it's merely my ego that has been wounded--never my soul It is merely my ego that wants revenge, or to win the biggest prize. It is merely my ego that wants to start a Twitter war against a hater, or to sulk at an insult or to quit in righteous indignation because I didn't get the outcome I wanted.
"At such times, I can always steady my life one more by returning to my soul. I ask it, "And what is it that you want, dear one?"
"The answer is always the same: "More wonder, please."
"As long as I'm still moving in that direction---toward wonder--then I know I will always be fine in my soul, which is where it counts. And since creativity is still the most effective way for me to access wonder, I choose it.”
― Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear
"At such times, I can always steady my life one more by returning to my soul. I ask it, "And what is it that you want, dear one?"
"The answer is always the same: "More wonder, please."
"As long as I'm still moving in that direction---toward wonder--then I know I will always be fine in my soul, which is where it counts. And since creativity is still the most effective way for me to access wonder, I choose it.”
― Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear
Emma’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Emma’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
386 books
|
65 friends
4,644 books
|
2,937 friends
755 books
|
36 friends
314 books
|
10 friends
2,395 books
|
97 friends
382 books
|
35 friends
131 books
|
41 friends
44 books
|
10 friends
More friends…
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