...no matter how rhapsodic one waxes about the process of wresting edible plants and tamed animals from the sprawling vagaries of nature, there's a timeless, unwavering truth espoused by those who worked the land for ages: no matter how responsible a...
The Pacific is my home ocean; I knew it first, grew up on its shore, collected marine animals along the coast. I know its moods, its color, its nature. It was very far inland that I caught the first smell of the Pacific. When one has been long at sea...
Fantasy is a natural human activity. It certainly does not destroy or even insult Reason; and it does not either blunt the appetite for, nor obscure the perception of scientific verity. On the contrary. The keener and the clearer is the reason, the b...
1) everything that’s already in the world when you’re born is just normal; 2) anything that gets invented between then and before you turn thirty is incredibly exciting and creative and with any luck you can make a career out of it; 3) anything t...
Today I want to belong. I want to feel safe and at home. I want to be aware of what it is like simply to be, without defenses or desires. I will appreciate the flow of life for what it is-my own true self. I will notice those moments of intimacy with...
Biblical eschatology fundamentally challenges the "official" scientific idea that the universe will end in a violent heat death, and instead that the cosmos will be set free from its decadence. It calls us to consider the sobering similarities betwee...
I bring peace in the world, When I am an example of peace. When I love without condition. When I am the symbol of justice. When I can see people without prejudice. When I plant trees with great love. When I love the nature and take care. When I see n...
From the outside looking in, i think my life would appear very isolated, occupying a huge empty space, with hollow-sounding, emotional echoes. But in reality, this solitary sanctuary i inhabit, allows my artistic nature to sing at the top of its lung...
But this is all chasing after the wind. The essence of the suicides consisted not of sadness or mystery but simple selfishness. The girls took into their own hands decisions better left to God. They became too powerful to live among us, too self-conc...
If the worst you can say about an otherwise sweet-natured and pleasant romance novel is that the main characters are just too wholesome to suit you and your bitter, bitter, cat-infested, 7-years-friendless-and-romantically-barren life, you should pro...
(Speaking of the Cistercian monks) A grim fraternity, passing grim lives in that sweet spot, that God had made so bright! Strange that Nature's voices all around them--the soft singing of the waters, the wisperings of the river grass, the music of th...
Meditation is to be aware of every thought and of every feeling, never to say it is right or wrong but just to watch it and move with it. In that watching you begin to understand the whole movement of thought and feeling. And out of this awareness co...
Haskell Moore: There is a natural order to this world, and those who try to upend it do not fare well. This movement will never survive; if you join them, you and your entire family will be shunned. At best, you will exist a pariah to be spat at and ...
Wallace: Oh, Gromit. We've created a monster. Hutch is the beast. The lunar panels! They must've ovestimulated his primitive bunny nature. And now when the moon is out, he undergoes a hideous transformation. [Suddenly Hutch starts twitching and growl...
[first lines] DuPont: In the first years of the 21st century, a third World War broke out. Those of us who survived knew mankind could never survive a fourth; that our own volatile natures could simply no longer be risked. So we have created a new ar...
[first lines] Oscar Grant: What's your resolution? Sophina: I'm gonna cut carbs. Oscar Grant: Aren't you Mexican? You can't eat nothin' Grandma makes. Sophina: It only takes 30 days to form a habit, and then it becomes second nature. Oscar Grant: Who...
Antonio: We were just wondering if, if it is good to just leave a few things to, to chance? Geneticist: We want to give your child the best possible start. Believe me, we have enough imperfection built in already. Your child doesn't need any more add...
Bruce Baldwin: [Speaking of Walter] You know, Hildy, he's not such a bad fellow. Hildy Johnson: No, he should make some girl real happy. Bruce Baldwin: Uh-huh. Hildy Johnson: [Under her breath] Slap-happy. Bruce Baldwin: He's not the man for you. I c...
[at a supply depot somewhere in France] Oddball: We see our role as essentially defensive in nature. While our armies are advancing so fast and everyone's knocking themselves out to be heroes, we are holding ourselves in reserve in case the Krauts mo...
Joel Cairo: I am prepared to pay five thousand dollars for the figure's return. Do you have it? Sam Spade: No. Joel Cairo: But if it isn't here, why did you risk serious injury to prevent my searching for it? Sam Spade: Why should I sit around here a...
Christopher "Chris" Wilton: So tell me, what's a beautiful young American ping-pong player doing mingling among the British upper class? Nola Rice: Did anyone ever tell you you play a very aggressive game? Christopher "Chris" Wilton: Did anyone ever ...