If people bring so much courage to this world the world has to kill them to break them, so of course it kills them. The world breaks every one and afterward many are strong at the broken places. But those that will not break it kills. It kills the very good and the very gentle and the very brave impartially. If you are none of these you can be sure it will kill you too but there will be no special hurry. Ernest Hemingway, A Farewell To Arms
That’s a rather grim way to look at life and death. I’ve never read any Hemingway. Is this a typical type of attitude found in his work?
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better. Samuel Beckett
I guess this is a little better. I suspect if a person could count them, there’d be more failures than successes but, like people who adore Sylvia Browne, only concentrate on what went right. It’s not seemly to concentrate on the failures, even though learning from mistakes in the real world can’t really happen without them. On that topic, this Newsweek article from a while back about DNA and a predisposition in some children to be incapable of doing just that. Fascinating.
Responsible artists try to affect you sensually in a way that enlarges your experience. Pauline Kael, American film critic , 1919-2001
Not much I can really say about this one. I’ve had bad art experiences. Worst was some display by a woman from the Winnipeg area. She’d crafted a glass wedding dress for bees to live in, and a neighbour had a hive nearby that she’d put purses and shoes into and let the bees wax all over them and then put them on display. To this day I can’t deal with the scent of bees wax.
Nothing is permanent but change. Heraclitus
Well, that’s a good place to finish. It’s hard to rely on much in the world, but you can rely on that. I guess it just depends on how one responds to change. Does it cripple you, or allow you to find a new purpose? More on that topic soon, I think.
