Quotes 65: Joseph Campbell

"We must be willing to get rid of the life we've planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us." 

–– Joseph Campbell (1904-1987), American author and professor 

via Book of Commonplace 2003-2004, p. 70.

Quotes 64: Elaine Aron

"Appreciate yourself for being, not doing." 

–– Elaine Aron (b. 1944), American psychologist and author 

Source: Elaine N. Aron. The Highly Sensitive Person: How to Thrive When the World Overwhelms You. New York: Broadway Books, 1996, p. 83. 

via Book of Commonplace 2003-2004, p. 65.

Quotes 63: Rainer Maria Rilke

"Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves like locked rooms and like books that are written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer." 

–– Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926), Bohemian-Austrian poet and novelist 

via Book of Commonplace 2003-2004, p. 166.

Quotes 62: Sue Grafton

"I was beginning to see that operating in high gear was a means of protecting myself. Living at an accelerated pace allowed me to feel only half as much because there wasn't time to feel more." 

–– Sue Grafton (1940-2017), American author

Source: Sue Grafton. R is for Ricochet. New York: Penguin Group, 2004, p. 237-8. (Character Kinsey Millhone) 

via Book of Commonplace 2003-2004, p. 180.

Quotes 61: André Gide

"It is not always by plugging away at a difficulty and sticking at it that one overcomes it; but, rather, often by working on the next one to it. Certain people and certain things require to be approached at an angle." 

–– André Gide (1869-1951), French writer 

via: Book of Commonplace 2003-2004, p. 47

Quotes 60: Nicholas Negroponte

"Where do good ideas come from? That's simple! From differences. Creativity comes from unlikely juxtapositions. The best way to maximize differences is to mix ages, cultures and disciplines." 

–– Nicholas Negroponte (b. 1943), American academic and computer scientist 

Source: Tom Peters. Reimagine!: Business Excellence in a Disruptive Age. London" Dorling Kindersley, 2003; p. 264. 

via: Book of Commonplace 2003-2004, p.16

Quotes 59: Isabel Allende

"You are the storyteller of your own life, and you can create your own legend or not." 

–– Isabel Allende (b. 1942), Peruvian-born Chilean writer 

via Book of Commonplace 2003-2004, p. 14

Quotes 58: Eric K. Shinseki

"If you don't like change, you're going to like irrelevance even less." 

–– Eric K. Shinseki (b. 1942), American retired U.S. Army general 

via: Book of Commonplace 2003-2004, p. 9

Quotes 57: Coco Chanel

"In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different." 

–– Gabrielle Bonheur "Coco" Chanel (1883-1971), French fashion designer and businesswoman 

Source: Living Etc. April 2020, p. 60.

Quotes 56: Jane Smiley

"I'm a working person. I always tell students that if you sit around and wait to be inspired, you'll never get anywhere." 

–– Jane Smiley (b. 1949), American novelist 

Source: Sarah Hampson. The Hampson Interview: "Jane Smiley, A pragmatist of the page." The Globe and Mail, Saturday May 17, 2003, p. R9. 

via Book of Commonplace 2003-2004, p. 9.

Quotes 55: Richard Florida

"Everything interesting happens at the margins." 

–– Richard Florida (b. 1957), American urban studies theorist, author, and professor 

Source: Richard Florida. The Rise of the Creative Class: and how it's transforming work, leisure, community and everyday life. New York: Basic Books, 2002; p. 184. 

via Book of Commonplace 2004-2004, p. 6. 

Quotes 54: P.D. James

"A detective story is about bringing order out of disorder. I think there are very interesting psychological reasons why we read detective stories, and why we write them." 

–– P.D. James (1920-2014), British novelist

Source: Sarah Hampson. The Hampson Interview: "P.D. James, A spot of murder with your tea?" The Globe and Mail, Saturday September 13, 2003, p. R3. 

via Book of Commonplace 2003-2004, p. 3.

Quotes 53: Richard Wagamese

"The beginning of wisdom is the same as its attainment: wonder." 

–– Richard Wagamese (1955-2017), Canadian Ojibway author

Source: Richard Wagamese. Embers: One Ojiway's Meditations. Madeira Park, British Columbia: Douglas and McIntyre (2013) Ltd., 2016, p. 58.

via Book of Commonplace 2020-present, p. 62.

Quotes 52: Terry Gilliam

"Nothing sets you...free creatively, like having a set of limitations to explore." 

–– Terry Gilliam (b. 1940), American-born British actor, comedian, and screenwriter.

Source: Pico Iyer. A Beginner's Guide to Japan: Observations and Provocations. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2019.

via Book of Commonplace 2020-present, p.65

Quotes 51: Malcolm Gladwell

"In Russian folklore there is an archetype called yurodivy, or the "Holy Fool." The Holy Fool is a social misfit –– eccentric, off-putting, sometimes even crazy –– who nonetheless has access to the truth. Nonetheless is actually the wrong word. The Holy Fool is a truth-teller because he is an outcast. Those who are not part of existing social hierarchies are free to blurt out inconvenient truths or question things the rest of us take for granted." 

–– Malcolm Gladwell (b. 1963), British-born, Canadian author, journalist, public speaker and podcaster. 

Source: Malcolm Gladwell. Talking to Strangers. New York: Little, Brown & Company, 2019, p. 98-99. 

via Book of Commonplace 2020-present, p. 72

Quotes 50: Jolene Banning

"All my life I've had dreams of what life could be like – if only. If only our treaties were honoured. If only we were allowed to just be who we were meant to be." 

–– Jolene Banning, Canadian Anishinaabe-kwe journalist, writer and storyteller. 

Source: Jolene Banning. 'Toiling for the truth, no matter the toll.' The Globe and Mail, Saturday January 30, 2021; p. O4.

Quotes 49: Nina Simone

"An artist's duty is to reflect the times." 

–– Nina Simone (1933-2003), American singer, songwriter, and civil rights activist

Quotes 48: Rumi

"Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing there is a field. I'll meet you there."

–– Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī (1207-1273), Persian poet and Sufi mystic; interpretation by Coleman Barks (b. 1937), American poet

Quotes 47: Tom Stoppard

"What really counts is not dreaming about fame and glory... but stamina." 

–– Sir Tom Stoppard (b. 1937), Czech-born British playwright and screenwriter. Character Nina says this about the artist's life in Stoppard's adaptation of Chekhov's The Seagull. 

Source: J. Kelly Nestruck. 'The storied life and art of playwright Tom Stoppard takes centre stage in expansive new biography.' The Globe and Mail. Saturday February 27, 2021, p. P10.

Quotes 46: Ruth Bader Ginsberg

"Generally, change in our society is incremental, I think. Real change, enduring change, happens one step at a time." 

–– Ruth Bader Ginsberg (1933-2020), American lawyer & jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1993 to 2020 (her death). 

Source: Irin Carmon & Shana Knizhnik. Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsberg. New York: Dey Street Books (HarperCollins), 2015, page unknown.

via: Instagram stories

Quotes 45: William James

"Our life experience will equal what we have paid attention to, whether by choice or default." 

–– William James (1842-1910), American psychologist and philosopher

Source: Rob Walker. The Art of Noticing: 131 Ways to Spark Creativity, Find Inspiration, and Discover Joy in the Everyday. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2019, p. 230.

Quotes 44: Anita McGahan

"Unstructured interactions amongst people at work are what keep us close. They're what build community. They cultivate trust in each other and trust in our society and our ability to get through things together. It also supports innovation.” 

— Anita McGahan, University of Toronto professor (strategic management) 

Source: Interview with Matt Galloway on CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) The Current, October 29, 2020

Quotes 43: Pico Iyer

"The richest part of life lies in the space between absence and presence."

–– Pico Iyer (b. 1957) British-born novelist and essayist

Source: Pico Iyer. A Beginner's Guide to Japan: Observations and Provocations. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2019, p. 124. 

via Book of Commonplace 2020-present, p. 65.

Quotes 42: Thomas King

"Mimi has a theory that travel makes time stop. Or at least slows it down. Her reasoning has a simple elegance. When you're home, you fall into routines. These routines are so familiar that you do them without even thinking or noticing the passage of time. You get up, have breakfast, check your emails, go to work, have lunch, finish work, come home, have dinner, watch some television, go to bed. And every so often, you look up and wonder where the heck the time went.

"When you're travelling, everything is new and every minute is taken up with decision-making.

"Tick tock, tick tock.

"Exhausting." 

–– Thomas King (b. 1943), Canadian-American Cherokee author 

Source: Thomas King. Indians on Vacation: A Novel. Toronto, Ontario: HarperCollins Publishers, Ltd, 2020, p. 43. 

via Book of Commonplace 2020-present, p. 87-88.

Quotes 41: Andy Warhol

"You need to let the little things that bore you suddenly thrill you." 

–– Andy Warhol (1928-1987), American artist 

Source: Gayle MacDonald. 'How to talk about nothing.' The Globe and Mail. Saturday February 13, 2021, p. 5.

via: Book of Commonplace 2020-present, p. 86.

Quotes 40: Anthony Trollope

"A small daily task, if it be really daily, will beat the labours of a spasmodic Hercules." 

–– Anthony Trollope (1815-1882), English novelist 

via Book of Commonplace 2017-2020, p.138

Quotes 39: Samuel Johnson

"It is by studying little things that we attain the great art of having as little misery and as much happiness as possible." 

–– Samuel Johnson (1709-1784), English author 

via Book of Commonplace 2017-2020, p. 137

Quotes 38: Scott Thornley

""I think what we do is intuitive, but it's also essentially about observation." He was looking down at his cup as if he was reading the tea leaves. "If your work is about observation, then it seems only natural –– to me at least –– that you never stop observing. You observe obsessively... and minutely. You train yourself to look inside, outside, peripherally. You study art and music, the way people dance, walk, lie –– and tell the truth. You record your dreams and you're willing to learn from them."" 

–– Scott Thornley, Canadian novelist and creative director 

Source: Scott Thornley. Erasing Memory. Toronto: House of Anansi Press (Random House), 2011 (2018), p. 155. Character Detective MacNeice to colleague Fiza Aziz. Erasing Memory was  Scott Thornley's debut mystery novel. 

Via Book of Commonplace 2017-2020, p. 131-2

Quotes 37: P.D. James

"You surely understand one thing, the need to do what every instinct of your body tells you is ordained for you. Haven't you lived your life like that? Don't we all at some time or another make a decision which we know is absolutely right, the assurance that some enterprise, some change, is imperative? And even if it fails, to resist it will be a greater failure. I suppose some people would see that as a call from God." 

–– P.D. James (1920-2014), British novelist

Source: P.D. James. The Private Patient. Toronto: Alfred A. Knopf Canada (Random House Canada), 2008; p. 78-9. Character Candace Westhall to George Chandler-Powell.

via Book of Commonplace 2017-2020, p. 128

Quotes 36: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

"A [person] can stand anything, except a succession of ordinary days." 

–– Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832), German author, scientist, and statesman

via Book of Commonplace 2017-2020, p. 125 

Quotes 35: Marcus Aurelius

"What stands in the way becomes the way." 

–– Marcus Aurelius (121-180 AD), Roman Emperor and Stoic Philosopher 

via Book of Commonplace 2017-2020, p. 122