Quotes 187: Mary Catherine Bateson

"Improvisation can be either a last resort or an established way of evoking creativity." 

–– Mary Catherine Bateson (1939-2021), American cultural anthropologist and writer 

via Commonplace Book 2006, p. 110  

Quotes 186: Alan Watts

"A thing is a think." 

–– Alan Watts (1915-1973), British philosopher and writer

via Sarah Urist Green. You Are an Artist. p. 426 e-book

Quotes 185: Anni Albers

"Being creative is not so much the desire to do something as the listening to that which wants to be done: the dictation of the materials." 

–– Anni Albers (1899-1994), German-born American textile artist and printmaker

Quotes 184: Laurie Anderson

"None of us know what will happen. Don't spend time worrying about it. Make the most beautiful thing you can. Try to do that every day. That's it. 

–– Laurie Anderson (b. 1947), American musician and multidisciplinary artist

Quotes 183: bell hooks

"The function of art is to do more than tell it like it is. It's to imagine what is possible." 

–– bell hooks, pen name of Gloria Jean Watkins (1952-2021), American writer, academic, & activist 

Quotes 182: William S. Burroughs

"Your mind will answer most questions if you learn to relax." 

–– William S. Burroughs (1914-1997), American writer

Quotes 181: Benjamin Franklin

"Little strokes fell great oaks." 

–– Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790), American writer, scientist, diplomat, publisher, inventor

Quotes 180: Virginia Woolf

"It is in our idleness, in our dreams, that submerged truth comes to the top." 

–– Virginia Woolf (1882-1941), English writer, critic, & publisher

via Commonplace Book 2006, p. 106.

Quotes 179: May Sarton

"Every grief or inexplicable seizure –– if we discipline ourselves and think hard enough –– can be turned into account." 

–– May Sarton (1912-1995), Belgian-born American writer

via Commonplace Book 2006, p. 105. 

Quotes 178: Kevin Myers

"The problem with popular thinking is that it doesn't require you to think at all." 

–– Kevin Myers (b. 1947), English-born Irish journalist and writer

via Commonplace Book 2006, p. 87.

Quotes 177: John Maynard Keynes

"The difficulty lies not so much in developing new ideas as in escaping from the old ones." 

–– John Maynard Keynes (1883-1946), English economist 

via Commonplace Book 2006, p. 87.

Quotes 176: Franz Kafka

"Writing is the axe that breaks the frozen sea within." 

–– Franz Kafka (1883-1924), Bohemian-born writer 

via Commonplace Book 2006, p. 85.

Quotes 175: Charles Franklin Kettering

"All human development, no matter what form it takes, must be outside the rules; otherwise, we would never have anything new." 

–– Charles Franklin Kettering (1876-1958), American inventor, engineer, and businessman

via Commonplace Book 2006, p. 80.

Quotes 174: Sir Antony Rupert Jay

"The uncreative mind can spot wrong answers, but it takes a creative mind to spot wrong questions." 

–– Sir Antony Rupert Jay (1930-2016), English writer, broadcaster, and director

 via Commonplace Book 2006, p. 79.

Quotes 173: Alvin Toffler

"You've got to think about 'big things' while you're doing small things, so that all the small things go in the right direction." 

–– Alvin Toffler (1928-2016), American writer and futurist

via Commonplace Book 2006, p. 76.

Quotes 172: William Martin

"Your conversations help create your world. Speak of delight, not dissatisfaction. Speak of hope, not despair. Let your words bind up wounds, not cause them." 

–– William Martin, American author of The Couple's Tao Te Ching

via Commonplace Book 2006, p. 58.

Quotes 171: Diana Whitney & Amanda Trosten-Bloom

"Questions can stimulate ideas, innovation, and invention. New knowledge, theories, and inventions have frequently evolved from unusual questions –– questions that require persistent reflection, consideration of paradoxical possibilities, and synthesis across diverse disciplines. Many scientists and inventors tell of the question that "haunted" them, begging for resolution until the answer emerged and along with it a new idea, or invention." 

–– Diana Whitney (b. 1948), American writer & Amanda Trosten-Bloom, American writer

Source: Diana Whitney & Amanda Trosten-Bloom. The Power of Appreciative Inquiry: A Practical Guide to Positive Change. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2003; p. 59.

via Commonplace Book 2006, p. 57.

Quotes 170: Sanaya Roman

"Whatever you appreciate and give thanks for will increase in your life." 

–– Sanaya Roman, American writer 

via Commonplace Book 2006, p. 48.

Quotes 169: Gilda Radner

"There is no real security except for whatever you build inside yourself." 

–– Gilda Radner (1946-1989), American comedian and actress

via Commonplace Book 2006, p. 45.

Quotes 168: Henry David Thoreau

"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you've imagined. As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler." 

–– Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862), American essayist, philosopher, and poet 

via Commonplace Book 2006, p. 43.

Quotes 167: Joseph Campbell

 "When you are on your path, and it is truly your path, doors will open for you where there were no doors for someone else."

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

via Commonplace Book 2006, p. 43

Quotes 166: Andrew Kopkind

"To be revolutionary is to love your life enough to change it, to choose struggle instead of exile, to risk everything." 

–– Andrew Kopkind (1935-1994), American journalist 

via Commonplace Book 2006, p. 43

Quotes 165: Bruno Munari

"Making things complicated is easy. Achieving simplicity is tough." 

–– Bruno Munari (1907-1998), Italian artist and designer

via Commonplace Book 2006, p. 43

Quotes 164: Emily Carr

"Inspiration is intention obeyed." 

–– Emily Carr (1871-1945), Canadian artist and writer

via Commonplace Book 2006, p. 43

Quotes 163: Anaïs Nin

"Life shrinks and expands in proportion to one's courage."  

–– Anaïs Nin (1903-1977), French-Cuban American writer

via Commonplace Book 2006, p. 43

Quotes 162: John Calvin Maxwell

"Your life today is a result of your thinking yesterday. Your life tomorrow will be determined by what you think today." 

–– John Calvin Maxwell (b. 1947), American writer, pastor, professional speaker 

Source: John C. Maxwell. Think on These Things. Kansas City, Kansas: Beacon Hill Press, 1979; p. 13. 

via Commonplace Book 2006, p. 25

Quotes 161: Russian proverb

"The bitter truth is better than a sweet lie." 

–– Russian proverb

Source: Book of Commonplace 2006, p. 11.

Quotes 160: Mary Ford

"What you find in your mind is what you put there. Put good things in there." 

–– Mary Ford (1924-1977), American musician

Source: Book of Commonplace 2006, p. 7.

Quotes 159: Edward Lewis

"We define ourselves by the best that is in us, not the worst that has been done to us." 

–– Edward Lewis (b. 1940), American entrepreneur and magazine CEO

Source: Book of Commonplace 2006, p. 6.

Quotes 158: Henri-Frédéric Amiel

"Almost everything comes from almost nothing."

–– Henri-Frédéric Amiel (1821-1881), Swiss philosopher, poet, critic

via Book of Commonplace 2006, p. 5.

Quotes 157: Cindy Blackstock

"Courage is not a value. It's an activator of values." 

–– Cindy Blackstock (b. 1964), Canadian/Gitxsan social worker, professor, activist 

Source: April 17, 2020 'Unreserved' radio program on CBC radio (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation)