Today's Words of Wisdom - December 2, 2015

Today is the birthday of the following people:

George Saunders (1958 - ):

“Don't be afraid to be confused. Try to remain permanently confused. Anything is possible. Stay open, forever, so open it hurts, and then open up some more, until the day you die, world without end, amen.”

and

“Humor is what happens when we're told the truth quicker and more directly than we're used to.”

and

“What I regret most in my life are failures of kindness.

Those moments when another human being was there, in front of me, suffering, and I responded…sensibly.  Reservedly.  Mildly.”

and

“And so, a prediction, and my heartfelt wish for you: as you get older, your self will diminish and you will grow in love.  YOU will gradually be replaced by LOVE.   If you have kids, that will be a huge moment in your process of self-diminishment.  You really won’t care what happens to YOU, as long as they benefit.  That’s one reason your parents are so proud and happy today.  One of their fondest dreams has come true: you have accomplished something difficult and tangible that has enlarged you as a person and will make your life better, from here on in, forever.”

and

“And someday, in 80 years, when you’re 100, and I’m 134, and we’re both so kind and loving we’re nearly unbearable, drop me a line, let me know how your life has been.  I hope you will say: It has been so wonderful.”

and

“Do all the other things, the ambitious things – travel, get rich, get famous, innovate, lead, fall in love, make and lose fortunes, swim naked in wild jungle rivers, but as you do, to the extent that you can, err in the direction of kindness.” 

T. Coraghessan Boyle (1948 - ):

“But then, that’s the beauty of writing stories—each one is an exploratory journey in search of a reason and a shape. And when you find that reason and that shape, there’s no feeling like it.”

and

“There are always surprises. Life may be inveterately grim and the surprises disproportionately unpleasant, but it would be hardly worth living if there were no exceptions, no sunny days, no acts of random kindness.”

and

“I am concerned with social and environmental issues. What rational person is not? But advocacy and art do not mix. Art is a seduction. Good art invites the reader to think and feel deeply and come to his/her own conclusions.”

Ann Patchett (1963 - ):

“It makes you wonder. All the brilliant things we might have done with our lives if only we suspected we knew how.”

and

“Never be so focused on what you're looking for that you overlook the thing you actually find.”

and

“You are always someone’s favorite unfolding story.”

Henry Yesler (1810 – 1892):

Yesler was Seattle’s first millionaire, making his money in the lumber industry with a steam-powered sawmill he constructed. His mansion later became the first permanent home of the Seattle Public Library.