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 

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

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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)

Barry Lopez Foundation for Art & Environment

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

Thought for the Day

[. . .] weeping may linger for the night,

but joy comes in the morning. [. . .]

~ Psalm 30

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

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

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

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

Barry Lopez Foundation for Art & Environment

Thought for the Day

Do we want to love well?

Then first we must know what it means to abide.

~ Dr. Laurie Wilson

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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

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

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

Thought for the Day

You learn a lot by staying in one place

But never how the story truly ends.

~ Dana Gioia

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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

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

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)

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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

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

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)

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

The Audre Lorde Project

Audre Lorde Profiles at Academy of American Poets,  National Women's History Museum, and Poetry Foundation

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

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

 

Thought for the Day

It is an act of trust to tell someone that you don't trust them.

~ Nancy Crawford

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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

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

Douglas Charles, "Meet Frank Freshwaters, The Real-Life Andy Dufresne Who Served Time and Escaped 'Shawshank Prison'," brobible, March 22, 2022

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

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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)

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)