Musings
all the things that have been inspiring me lately
“All of the really successful people I know have a really strong action bias. They just do things.”
“My humanity is caught up, is inextricably bound up, in yours. We belong in a bundle of life. We say a person is a person through other persons. It is not I think therefore I am. It says rather: I am human because I belong, I participate, and I share.”
“Ideas are dangerous and transformative. Writing, then, is creative work for which we are responsible, accountable. Writing requires our constant care and integrity.”
“The freedom to write can thrive only if we protect the freedom to read — and to learn. And perhaps the first thing to learn, in these storm-battered days, is that we could all do with more humility, and more humanity.”
“Leadership is the responsibility to see those around us rise. It’s not about being in charge. It’s about taking care of those in our charge.”
Fall
Fall came and went in Ann Arbor, but I’m not mad about it. Everything is wet and piercing cold now, but a few weeks ago, A2 looked like something out of a Hallmark Channel movie. I think I could get used to this:
Reminders In Case You Needed Them:
“Our job is to love others without stopping to inquire whether or not they are worthy.”
“We are very good at preparing to live, but not very good at living. We know how to sacrifice ten years for a diploma, and we are willing to work very hard to get a job, a car, a house, and so on. But we have difficulty remembering that we are alive in the present moment, the only moment there is for us to be alive.”
“We build infrastructure like roads, bridges, and communications systems so that people can work. That infrastructure helps us all because it keeps our economy going. It’s time to recognize that child care is part of the basic infrastructure of this nation — it’s infrastructure for families.”
“Refuse to be satisfied with the inevitability of the world you inherent.”
“You are scared of dying—and, tell me, is the kind of life you lead really any different than being dead?”
“Make your own Bible. Select and collect all the words and sentences that in all your readings have been to you like the blast of a trumpet.”
Other Lovely Things:
I’ve been obsessed with Mélissa Vales Passion Session. This whole performance was magical.
“I hope this grief stays with me.” I am completely and utterly in love with this interview between Andrew Garfield and Stephen Colbert. It’s a must watch.
Covers of My Favorite Christmas Songs:
all images by me