Sunday, May 28, 2023

Thought for the Day

[. . .] Did you know / there are tribes in the Amazon rain forest //
who are, this minute, speaking a language without /
the past tense? [. . .]
~ Faith Shearin
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Quoted from Faith Shearin, "No Eyes" in Lost Language: Poems (Press 53, 2020), p. 30

Faith Shearin, Award-Winning Poet 

Sunday, May 21, 2023

Thought for the Day

History tells us that with every great empire
comes great barbarism, that the two are inseparable, 
so that to diminish barbarism you must dismantle
the empires. This forces the question of what, really,
civilization brings to people that they did not already
have. And why is civilization so hard on the people
who turn it down?
~ Barry Lopez
____________________________

Quoted from Barry Lopez, "Puerto Ayora" in Horizons (Vintage, 2019), p. 216

Barry Lopez (1945-2020), American Author, Essayist, Nature Writer, Fiction Writer

Barry Lopez Obituary at The New York Times, December 26, 2020 (Updated January 12, 2021)

Sunday, May 14, 2023

Thought for the Day

Never grow a wishbone where your backbone ought to be.
~ Clementine Paddleford

________________________

Quoted from Clementine Paddleford, c. 1920s

Clementine Paddleford (1898-1967), American Journalist, Food Writer

Kansas Historical Society

Sunday, May 7, 2023

Thought for the Day

[. . .] weeping may linger for the night,
but joy comes in the morning. [. . .]
~ Psalm 30
___________________________

Quoted from The NRSV Bible, Psalm 30, v. 5 

Sunday, April 30, 2023

Thought for the Day

The mind that is not baffled is not employed.
~ Wendell Berry
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Quoted from Wendell Berry, "Our Real Work" from Standing by Words (Counterpoint, 1983)

Wendell Berry, American Poet, Novelist, Essayist, Short Story Writer, Educator, Christian Pacifist, Environmental Activist, Cultural Critic, Farmer

Sunday, April 23, 2023

Thought for the Day

Individuals no more exceptional than the rest of us
provide stunning examples of our finest moments as humans.
~ Robert M. Sapolsky
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Quoted from Robert M. Sapolsky, Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst (Penguin Books, 2017 [paperback]), p. 674

Robert M. Sapolsky, American Neuroendocrinology Researcher; Author; Professor of Biology, Neurology & Neurological Sciences, and Neurosurgery, Stanford University; Speaker, TED Talks

Sunday, April 16, 2023

Thought for the Day

The world outside the self
 is indifferent to the fate of the self.
~ Barry Lopez
______________________________

Quoted from Barry Lopez, Horizon (Vintage Books, 2020 [paperback]), p. 484

Barry Lopez (1945-2020), American Environmentalist, Author. Essayist, Story Writer, Researcher

Barry Lopez Obituary at The New York Times


Sunday, April 9, 2023

Thought for the Day

Do we want to love well?
Then first we must know what it means to abide.
~ Dr. Laurie Wilson
__________________________________

Quoted from Dr. Laurie Wilson, "Abide to Love," Devotional Essay for The Lent Project at Center for Christianity Culture and the Arts at Biola University, March 28, 2023

Dr. Laurie Wilson, Assistant Professor, Torrey Honors College, Biola University

Sunday, April 2, 2023

Thought for the Day

[. . .] love //
is a longer voyage /
than life.
~ Nathalie Handal
___________________________
 
Quoted from Nathalie Handal, "Tessera" in Volo (Diode Eds., 2022); Excerpted by Poetry Daily, February 17, 2023

Nathalie Handal, Poet, Playwright, Essayist, Creative Nonfiction Writer, Editor

Sunday, March 26, 2023

Thought for the Day

Marvels offer common ground;
wonder is a shared delight, a shared motive.
~ Marina Warner
_______________________________

Quoted from Marina Warner, "Nothing More Wondrous" in The New York Review of Books, February 23, 2023 (Online and Print)

Marina Warner, Professor of English and Creative Writing, Birkbeck College, University of London; Distinguished Fellow, All Souls College, Oxford; Author; Writer of Fiction, Criticism, History; Memoirist, Essayist, Novelist, Short Story Writer

Sunday, March 19, 2023

Thought for the Day

You learn a lot by staying in one place
But never how the story truly ends.
~ Dana Gioia
______________________________

Quoted from Dana Gioia, "At the Crossroads" in Literary Hub, February 6, 2023; Excerpted from Gioia's Collection Meet Me at the Lighthouse (Graywolf Press, 2023)

Dana Gioia, Poet, Literary Translator, Literary Critic, Essayist, Editor, Librettist, Arts Advocate; California State Poet Laureate, 2015-2019

Sunday, March 12, 2023

Thought for the Day

History is chasing you, America, like a mean dog, 
and the only way to get it off your back is to turn
around and stare it in the face.
~ Lucille Clifton
_______________________________

Quoted from Lucille Clifton Reading, Department of English, University of Memphis, and River City Writers' Series, 1992-1993 Series

Lucille Clifton (1936-2010), American Poet, Children's Book Author

Sunday, March 5, 2023

Thought for the Day

[. . .] The earth is where we draw our strength.
The community is where we are shaped and held,
validated, known and protected. [. . .]
~ V (formerly, Eve Ensler)
___________________________

Quoted from Excerpt from V, Reckoning (Bloomsbury, 2023), Published in Literary Hub Politics, "Banishments Inside of Banishment: How Global Capitalism Destroys Our Connection to Place," February 1, 2023

V (Formerly, Eve Ensler), Playwright, Auhor, Performer, Activist

Sunday, February 26, 2023

Thought for the Day

 [. . .] Time is a long sunrise where we wait for our halos.
Night is the ash that covers the light. [. . .]
~ Kelli Russell Agodon
_____________________________
 
Quoted from Kelli Russell Agodon, "Till Death Shatters the Fabulous Stars" in Dialogues with Rising Tides (Copper Canyon Press, 2021), p. 48
 
Kelli Russell Agodon, Poet, Writer, Editor, Book Designer, Co-Founder, Two Sylvias Press

Sunday, February 19, 2023

Thought for the Day

This beautiful gift of attention that we human beings have
is being hijacked to pay attention to products and someone
else's political agenda. Whereas if we can reclaim our
attention and pay attention to things that really matter,
there a revolution starts.
~ Robin Wall Kimmerer
_________________________________

Quoted from David Marchese, "You Don't Have to Be Complicit in Our Culture of Destruction" (Interview with Robin Wall Kimmerer), The New York Times Magazine, January 29, 2023

Robin Wall Kimmerer, Member, Citizen Potawatomi Nation; Professor, State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry; Author, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants (Milkweed Editions, 2015) and Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses (Oregon State University Press, 2003)

Sunday, February 12, 2023

Thought for the Day

 [. . .] it is not difference which immobilizes us, but silence.
And there are so many silences to be broken.
~ Audre Lorde
______________________________

Quoted from Audre Lorde, "The Transformation of Silence into Language and Action" (Essay), Delivered at Modern Language Association's "Lesbian and Literature Panel," Chicago, Ill., December 28, 1977; First Published in Sinister Wisdom 6 (1978) and The Cancer Journals (Spinsters, Ink, San Francisco, 1980) Note: The link is to the essay reproduced by Electric Literature from Sister Outsider (1984), p. 44. The latter comprises a collection of essays and speeches by Lorde written between 1976 and 1984. A 2007 reprint of the collection is available from Crossing Press.

Audre Lorde (1934-1992), American Writer, Essayist, Poet, Feminist, Civil Rights Activist, Professor


Sunday, February 5, 2023

Thought for the Day

Person-to-person is the way the gospel was originally communicated.
Person-in-love-with person, person-respecting-person, person-
forgiving-person, person-touching-person, person-crying-
with-person, person-hugging-person: that's where
 the Spirit is so beautifully present.
~ Fr. Richard Rohr
____________________________

Quoted from Richard Rohr, "Jesus's Person-to-Person Ministry," Daily Meditation, Center for Action and Contemplation, December 27, 2022

Fr. Richard Rohr, Franciscan Priest, Ecumenical Teacher, Author, Founder of CAC

Sunday, January 29, 2023

Thought for the Day

 [. . .] we live hopeful amid utter senselessness.
~ Joshua Cohen
________________________________

Quoted from "The Gods of Chaos and Stupidity," Daniel Drake Interview with Joshua Cohen, The New York Review of Books,  November 5, 2022

Joshua Cohen, Pulitzer Prize-Winning Novelist, Story Writer,  and Editor, Contributor to The New York Review of Books

Daniel Drake, Editor, The New York Review of Books
 

Sunday, January 22, 2023

Thought for the Day

It is an act of trust to tell someone that you don't trust them.
~ Nancy Crawford
__________________________________
 
Quoted from Nancy Crawford, "Give Generously," Devotional for Day 34, December 30, 2022, The Advent Project, Center for Christianity, Culture & the Arts, Biola University

Nancy Crawford, Psy.D., Associate Professor of Psychology and Director of Clinical Training, Rosemead School of Psychology, Biola University

Sunday, January 15, 2023

Thought for the Day

Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things,
and no good thing ever dies.
~ Andy Dufresne
_______________________________

Quoted from The Shawshank Redemption's "Andy Dufresne" in Letter to "Red".

Andy Dufresne, Prison Philosopher and Principal Protagonist Played by Actor Tim Robbins in 1994 Film Based on Stephen King's Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption

Sunday, January 8, 2023

Thought for the Day

I believe a meaningful life comes from working in the service
of your talents — whatever strengths and qualities you have,
unique to you or rare in your circles, try to rally that talent
in order to create change. Hopefulness follows on from feeling
useful; too often people believe it's the other way around.
~ Rebecca Giggs
_____________________________

Quoted from "The Intertidal Zone," Arianne Gonzalez Interviews Rebecca Giggs, The New York Review, December 17, 2022

Rebecca Giggs, Science Writer; Author, Fathoms:  The World in the Whale (2020)

Sunday, January 1, 2023

Thought for the Day

How do we stay open to the possibility of hope and awe,
when so much of nature feels haunted by human problems?
~ Rebecca Giggs
________________________

Quoted from "The Intertidal Zone," Arianne Gonzalez's Interview with Rebecca Giggs, The New York Review, December 17, 2022

Rebecca Giggs, Science Writer; Author, Fathoms: The World in the Whale (2020)