Thanks for these - thought provoking. I particularly like Adam Duff’s idea, Sam Chang’s, and Toni Morrison’s. There is something I find slightly uncomfortable about the very act of collecting inspirational quotes. Not sure why - because I loved reading these. Perhaps it’s something to do with the idea of being out there and living it, rather than reading about it. To add my own, perhaps connected to that thought, is one of the simplest yet most profound lines I’ve come across, and I think is attributed to John Lennon: “Life is what happens to you when you’re busy making other plans”. For me it’s a reminder that every experience is worthwhile - when you look back, it’s both the contentment and the struggle that together create the sense of a whole. Much like your quote from Robert Moor I guess.
And thank you for reading Movable Worlds. Back when I was doing more travel writing (and I do feel an urge to do more of it again), I bought and read your ebook and found your recounting of your experiences to be very interesting!
Hello James! I think I know what you mean, though I don’t think of these so much as inspirational quotes (though I guess one is inspired by them) so much as just taking notes from things read that help to reorient the mind, as ideas to build upon rather than simply emulate? Haha. But perhaps it’s a blur line. More relevant I think to your point: Thomas Swick wrote a really good essay on travel writing that talked about how it tends to fall into the trap of just quoting other people who have gone long before on their thoughts on a place, rather than really forming new impressions and perspectives through engaging with everyday people: https://www.thomasswick.com/articles/roadsnottaken.html
Thanks for these - thought provoking. I particularly like Adam Duff’s idea, Sam Chang’s, and Toni Morrison’s. There is something I find slightly uncomfortable about the very act of collecting inspirational quotes. Not sure why - because I loved reading these. Perhaps it’s something to do with the idea of being out there and living it, rather than reading about it. To add my own, perhaps connected to that thought, is one of the simplest yet most profound lines I’ve come across, and I think is attributed to John Lennon: “Life is what happens to you when you’re busy making other plans”. For me it’s a reminder that every experience is worthwhile - when you look back, it’s both the contentment and the struggle that together create the sense of a whole. Much like your quote from Robert Moor I guess.
And thank you for reading Movable Worlds. Back when I was doing more travel writing (and I do feel an urge to do more of it again), I bought and read your ebook and found your recounting of your experiences to be very interesting!
Hello James! I think I know what you mean, though I don’t think of these so much as inspirational quotes (though I guess one is inspired by them) so much as just taking notes from things read that help to reorient the mind, as ideas to build upon rather than simply emulate? Haha. But perhaps it’s a blur line. More relevant I think to your point: Thomas Swick wrote a really good essay on travel writing that talked about how it tends to fall into the trap of just quoting other people who have gone long before on their thoughts on a place, rather than really forming new impressions and perspectives through engaging with everyday people: https://www.thomasswick.com/articles/roadsnottaken.html