Out Of Context: pieces of a life

A Writer's Holiday

2011-12-04T20:46:00.000-08:00

Walking is blind, even toward a clear horizon.

The oyster never felt so free as when a thief stole her pearl.

Some leaves hang on longer but eventually they all fall.

A forecast can be wrong, but not the weather.

What does introspection mean? It means you're looking in the wrong direction.

Life corrects the errors of logic.

The scientist seeks laws; the historian, causes; the artist, freedom.

Writer's block is a writer's holiday.

To board that slow train called Life and ride it to the end.

Being awake is no different than sleeping if all you do is dream.

Digging, one finds more rocks than gold.

The sea is captive in a drop of water.

In the end, it's the poet's voice that will be heard.

The Gardener's Thoughts

2011-08-11T04:45:00.000-07:00

Could I master the language I'd speak only silence.

No one can think clearly who thinks only with their head.

The moon is always full, though you can't always see it.

Many a petal has yet to fall before the last one falls.

A wave is no less free because the current helps it along.

Rain or shine, the cicadas find something to sing about.

Flowers are the gardener's thoughts.

When you win an argument, what do you win?

The world makes sense to those who don't try to make sense of it.

Even to have lived in vain is beautiful.

If my hand on yours trembles it's because bodies never lie.

Not trying makes everything easy.

When you chop life into little pieces you don't get pieces of life.

Don't stand in the hallway waiting; join the feast.

The Caprices Of Summer

2011-05-20T05:27:00.000-07:00

Earth, does it amaze you? How birds come down from the sky to walk on you?

I saw a man walking with his chin on his chest. His thoughts were weighing him down.

In my travels I found no answers, only wonders.

The liars don't worry me. It's the people who think they know the truth.

I'm not a thief because no one has anything I want.

Love hurts because you think that's what love is.

Everything the candle knows it learned in the dark.

Thought should be less profound and more human.

I made my life my dream so I could live it.

Between the planting and the harvest lie all the caprices of summer.

If a fool plants a beautiful garden, is he still a fool?

Pretend to be ticklish if it makes you laugh.

Even when you dial the wrong number there's someone at the other end.

Like a surfer only the next wave interests me.

Truth Is A Bubble...

2011-03-20T04:44:00.000-07:00

Carpenters are paid to build houses, not to explain how houses are built.

Expect the hill and the valley to see things differently.

The moon you see is not the moon you saw.

I don't want to be the one who says life is beautiful. I want to be the one who feels it.

Beginnings do not divulge their ends.

The love of life begins with the love of one person.

Every drop that falls in the ocean becomes the ocean.

We learn from our possessions that they're never enough.

Forgive me my foolish beliefs, as I forgive your foolish beliefs.

Truth is a bubble and hard to hold on to.

Even the camel with its huge nostrils can only take one breath at a time.

To be this happy, friendly person, that's all.

Artists pass on their dreams.

2011-02-06T06:03:00.000-08:00

Wisdom has learned everything from chance.

When I reached the top of the ladder I was no taller than before.

The best advice is what the skylark gives by singing.

Even an inchworm gets where it's going.

We write while sleepwalking and revise when awake.

That the sun has burnt you is no argument against it.

Let everything exist. No need to pick and choose.

The pursuit of unhappiness always succeeds.

The rain that falls wherever it pleases. I want to be that rain.

It's not worth staying up all night just to paint masterpieces.

Chaos is any order opposed to freedom.

When something is done for nothing it's done with the highest purpose in mind.

One is never wounded by the love one gives, only by the love one expects.

2010-12-18T06:03:00.000-08:00

The slope contains many wonders not found at the summit.

Obedience corrupts; absolute obedience corrupts absolutely.

The spider spinning its web is absorbed, but not self-absorbed.

Build your castle of dreams, but don't live in it.

What we have in common is also part of our uniqueness.

The true ladder of success is the one lying on the ground.

There is no fact that is not at least part fiction.

Ideas stand in the corner and laugh while we fight over them.

Even the bullfrog has a beautiful voice when it sings for its own pleasure.

Snow is the truth only when it's snowing.

Don't stand in the hallway waiting; join the feast.

What is eternal is the cloud passing slowly out of sight.

2010-10-26T05:29:00.000-07:00

When you stop expecting miracles, life is the miracle.

The beauty of this day doesn't depend on its lasting forever.

The gold you have to dig for is not the real gold.

Kites pull on their strings because they want to be free.

The feeling of being unappreciated is a failure to appreciate others.

The plant that's been uprooted has only courage to hold it up.

What is love after all but trusting in the unknown.

The right key: the one that doesn't open any door.

Lessons forgotten do more good than lessons learned.

The future can't be seen even with the most powerful telescopes.

Every destination knows that there's more than one way to get there.

People say, "It's not that simple." But maybe it is.

2010-09-16T13:06:00.000-07:00

My ideal journey: set out early and never arrive.

Beware of those who aren't content with soup and bread.

More sailors have drowned in words than in the sea.

When the wings are too heavy, the bird can't fly.

Writing is talking to yourself-with the hope of being overheard.

Not the light ahead, but the wind pushing me from behind.

Like Noah I built my ark, but the floods never came.

Change is always trivial compared to what doesn't change.

Sometimes out of sheer perversity reality conforms to my wishes.

Your faith is weak if you can't lose it.

I have no heroes except flowers and children.

When the train stays on the tracks, you don't ask why.

Optimists think badly, but live well.

Some truths can only be seen in the dark.

2010-07-30T15:04:00.000-07:00

If you think happiness is a rare bird you won't see much of it.

Art is a picture of the spirit.

What would beauty be if the whole world were blind?

Between greatness and cheesecake I'll take cheesecake.

When you look into things you see things that aren't there.

We no longer know what we feel when we can say what we feel.

Suppose Hercules had thought about his labors first. Fortunately, for him, he just went out and did them.

My kind of faith likes mountains just where they are.

Be a wanderer and a stranger to yourself.

I'd rather lose with love than win without it.

The fenced-in dog barks at the one running free.

I used to see the flaw in every diamond. Now stones astound me with their perfection.

2010-06-16T12:50:00.000-07:00

Think life as a question but live it as an answer.

The lifting of an arm or leg is magic.

The news wouldn't worry us, if we weren't already worried.

Tell the world your secret, but keep it from yourself.

Some of our best decisions aren't decisions.

The world is the medicine that cures me of myself.

Salt-water is and isn't the ocean.

My drug of choice is Yes.

Everything happens as if nothing happened. I'd call it a dream, but it's something much better.

Telling a willow not to weep only makes it weep more.

The key to every lock doesn't open any door.

Time does not pass, it continues.

2010-05-10T05:40:00.000-07:00

Whenever I do nothing I feel I've accomplished a lot.

What variety is to life, contradiction is to the mind.

The flea that doubts doesn't jump nearly as high.

Water flows because it's willing.

Looking in the mirror is seeing what other people see.

If it's work you're trying too hard.

To hate everything is to be wounded by everything.

The old philosophers knew so little; that's why they were so wise.

The air lets the arrow pass right through.

In the wind, more leaves tremble than any theory can account for.

If the light's not in you, you're in the dark.

Someone told me the world is round, but I'm checking it out for myself.

2010-04-08T07:55:00.000-07:00

Good humor is the sun on cloudy days.

Between thoughts, travel far and wide.

Nobody wants to be nothing. But that's the greatest thing in the world to be.

Teach children what they would learn, not what you would teach them.

My calm is like the tides: never at rest.

The little girl riding her bicycle. Never once did she wonder: "Is this worthwhile?"

You either love what's broken or you don't love.

Maturity is the moment one regains one's innocence.

Dreams that scare us wake us up.

Getting lost is part of getting there.

I never reach those far-off places. New trails tempt me at every turn.

The deep roots never doubt spring will come.

To stand speechless before a mountain is all I ask now.

2010-02-25T15:12:00.000-08:00

You don't know how to live. You live.

When I lose something I was afraid to lose I find I don't miss it.

Cast yourself upon the waters. Trust in your ability to swim.

You have to let the balloon go if you want to see it fly.

Solutions often mask the fact that there is no problem.

What is is plenty, but more is never enough.

There's one fast rule concerning death: save it for the end.

God had no purpose in creating the world. He was just having fun.

Everybody calls me "Marty." I never know what to call myself.

If you're in a hurry, don't go.

Everything real casts a shadow and the shadow is real.

I envy the one simply walking down the road.

2010-01-14T09:11:00.000-08:00

The order you seek is the confusion you feel.

Is the sun a symbol? I thought it was an object that lit up the world.

A false step now means nothing later.

I hate criticism, it makes me feel important.

The moon has seen many a theory come and go.

The mouse that fears the trap has already been trapped.

News used to come too late; now it comes too early.

Appreciation, not possession, makes a thing ours.

How come it's always the narrow path that considers itself superior?

I wasn't in Buffalo when it snowed but it snowed anyway.

A man went in search of one perfect moment. The price he had to pay was the rest of his life.

Open your eyes. Now tell me: where is the mystery?

2009-12-03T08:06:00.000-08:00

When smashing idols, always begin with your own.

The pieces of a puzzle aren't together or apart.

When a thing becomes indispensable it's time to give it up.

Even blind alleys lead somewhere.

A puppet whose strings got cut learned to walk all on its own.

Success reveals how little ambition is worth.

Handing one's troubles over to God makes sense even to an atheist.

Nothing will ever improve if we keep trying to make things better.

I found all my prayers answered in the silence of the stone.

Because I took the sun for granted it smiled on me.

If no one gives me advice I always follow it.

How is failure possible? One is always just beginning to live.

2009-11-03T07:42:00.000-08:00

The gambler who expects to lose is the happiest person at the track.

When you think someone has a problem the problem is really yours.

There's something braver than dying for the truth-living without it.

A dead writer has no ego.

The wind was never angry, the rain was never sad.

In the morning I don't want to know where I'll be in the afternoon.

There are more wrong turns on the map than on the road.

When your burden gets too heavy to carry, you learn how to carry it.

Where would you be if you left all your troubles behind?

The idealist wants to make ants so small no one can step on them.

Even if you find the clearing you can't stay there.

The sea will wash away our footprints but not the fact we made them.

2009-09-22T09:27:00.000-07:00

You can win the lottery, but not an argument.

The scarecrow has been in the field so long he thinks it belongs to him.

Lessons are learned, not taught.

Mannequins can't dress themselves. Stones go wherever you throw them.

Should I refuse the honey because the bee stings?

What is fog on the surface is also fog deep inside.

The things I'm not learning are teaching me a lot.

Never do anything important if you can help it.

It's easy to see the dark side. All you have to do is close your eyes.

Order is what exists before you start arranging things.

One person is a person; two is a statistic.

Dreams change the world, but only in dreams.

Be grateful to those who refuse your demands. They are your benefactors.

The landscape looks different from every blade of grass.

Life is simple. You just have to stop trying to figure it out.

2009-08-18T07:02:00.000-07:00

Experiences for which there are no words get along fine without them.

Behind every mask there is a face and behind that a story.

If you want to set your life in order consider it already done.

Altruist: a person who wants to help people more than they want to be helped.

Put on a red nose and baggy pants when the circus is in town.

A blind man sees with his cane, like all the rest of us.

I like both: unicorns and horses.

When in doubt, leap. One needs a little courage to live.

Everything is real when it happens and a dream afterwards.

Reasons are invented, not found.

Let every breeze draw you out of yourself.

Gravity is true for matter but not for the spirit.

One must plant a seed and let "it" speak.

No river could flow if it had to know its destination first.

You know you're on the wrong track if you're thinking too much.

White sand, white foam, blue water. It's not a fantasy, it's real.

2009-07-13T06:49:00.000-07:00

Language-a mirror in front of a window.

We put ourselves through hell and that is hell.

There is music you never hear unless you play it yourself.

Parrots mimic their owners. Their owners consider that a sign of intelligence.

First you roll a ball; then it rolls by itself.

A dream separates, but a look unites.

A cat believes in its claws even when they're cut.

I try never to do anything I might be proud of later.

I have a bad memory. Every day seems new to me.

A fool who cursed the sun was surprised to see it still shining.

Nothing succeeds like indifference to success.

Every bullet fired can expect a bullet in return.

The tragedy of every religion is that it needs a church to survive.

What if you have all the pieces and the puzzle still doesn't fit?

The leaves on the water, the fog under the bridge. That's what I believe in.

2009-06-11T05:26:00.000-07:00

How many truths are really true?

When I told the rainbow what its colors meant, it laughed.

If you're in the fault-finding business, you'll find me full of faults.

Dreams must be ground into bread and the bread eaten.

I'm the man to call when you need absolutely nothing.

Spend yourself; there's plenty more.

If it rains tonight, rain will be the cause.

Happiness exists, but not the conditions of happiness.

There is a truth for each occasion, but not for all occasions.

Opinion: a sign of ignorance.

Things put in the wrong place have found a new place.

Lead me not into the corporate world but deliver me from evil.

The wisdom of old age: hardening of the arteries.

Every line is the perfect length if you don't measure it.

Suppose nothing is wrong. What do you do, then?

2009-03-23T09:24:00.000-07:00

Some lives, like some remarks, only make sense out of context.

Words make known. But we live in the unknown.

Tell the truth. It's more disturbing than telling lies.

Rain is the picnic when it rains.

Press your lips to the fountain and drink life in.

Death is. That's its only excuse.

Priceless things are things you put no price on.

Real dishes break. That's how you know they're real.

He's the happiest who's happy with nothing.

Does it really matter who the fastest runner is?

New ideas are nothing new.

New ideas wind up on the same trash heap as the old ones.

The riddle we'll never solve is how to get along.

Blessed are they who expect nothing, for they'll be pleasantly surprised.

If you paint a black picture, the picture will be black.

God may be an atheist for all we know.

Humanity will never solve its problems as long as there are people around.

It is incredible the number of things I find not to take seriously.

Lovers of beauty can't be too discriminating.

If you're glad to be alive, the rest doesn't matter.

Cheer up. You don't have to do anything.

If you need a second to think, it's too late.

Miracles happen so often they become commonplace.

Bullets that miss the mark travel just as fast.

It's easier to draw a straight line than to straighten a crooked one.

All rabbits are not the same rabbit. Just as all Roberts are not the same Robert.

What costs me time costs me nothing.

A few names have survived oblivion. In time oblivion will have them all.

Art: a conversation through a locked door.

Boredom is the price one pays for not enjoying everything.