Paul Auster // "That’s all I’ve ever dreamed of... To make the world a better place. To bring some beauty to the drab humdrum corners of the soul. You can do it with a toaster, you can do it with a poem, you can do it by reaching out your hand to a stranger. It doesn’t matter what form it takes. To leave the world a little better than you found it. That’s the best a man can ever do."
Henri Matisse // "The essential thing is to work in a state of mind that approaches prayer."
Bob Dylan // "It’s nice to be able to put yourself in an environment where you can completely accept all the unconscious stuff that comes to you from your inner workings of your mind. And block yourself off to where you can control it all, take it down… For me, the environment to write the song is extremely important. The environment has to bring something out in me that wants to be brought out. It’s a contemplative, reflective thing… Environment is very important. People need peaceful, invigorating environments. Stimulating environments."
James Baldwin // "The role of the artist is exactly the same role of the lover. If I love you, I have to make you conscious of things you don’t see."
Jane Goodall // "There’s still a lot worth fighting for."
Albert Einstein // "A human being is a part of the whole, called by us 'Universe'... He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest — a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature... Nobody is able to achieve this completely, but striving for such achievement is, in itself, a part of the liberation and a foundation for inner security."
Jack Kerouac // "Happiness consists in realizing it is all a great strange dream."
Joan Didion // "I’m very attached to certain forms, little compulsive rituals. I like to cook; I like to sew. They’re peaceful things, and they’re an expression of caring."
Heath Ledger // "Honesty always gets my attention. Not particularly someone who is honest to me, but someone who is honest with themselves."
Shel Silverstein // "Listen to the mustn’ts, child. Listen to the don’ts. Listen to the shouldn’ts, the impossibles, the won’ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me... Anything can happen, child. Anything can be."
Ernest Hemingway // "I’m tired of everybody. Please forgive me."
James Baldwin // "The world changes according to the way people see it, and if you alter, even by a millimeter, the way people look at reality, then you can change it."