The most valuable part of a farm
I have frequently seen a poet withdraw, having enjoyed the most valuable part of a farm, while the crusty farmer supposed that he had got a few wild apples only.
- Henry David Thoreau, in Walden
Showing posts with label Quotes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Quotes. Show all posts
A formular more complicated than the problem itself
"The farmer is endeavoring to solve the problem of a livelihood by a formular more complicated than the problem itself. To get his shoestrings, he speculates in herds of cattle."
- Henry David Thoreau, in Walden
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Settled in Time
"The way we move within time is a kind of dance. We are always keeping time within one rhythm or another. Music, of course, is exemplary. One reason we love music so much is that it's so complete and it always comes out right. The notes harmonize with one another in time to make a beautiful, complete, ideal statement; not like our daily life where the rhythms are more subtle or hard to find or are constantly being interrupted or changed in ways that aren't so easy to handle. In music, as in our dance of life, if we get ahead of time or behind, we have a problem. One remarkable example of Suzuki Roshi's life was that he never seemed to be in a hurry. No matter how much pressure he was under, I don't remember ever seeing him in a hurry. I don't mean to imply that he was a perfect person. He was always the first to acknowledge his faults, which is one reason why we trusted him. But he had a way of not wasting time. He seemed to be settled in time almost casually, never ahead or behind. In his quiet way, fully filling each moment, he appeared to be tapped into some fundamental rhythm which was independent of circumstances, yet totally one with them."
— Sojun Mel Weitsman: The Form of Our Life
Filed in Quotes on April 22, 2010. 0 comments. Edit.