#insight

Our ignorance can be divided into problems and mysteries. When we face a problem, we may not know its solution, but we have insight, increasing knowledge, and an inkling of what we are looking for. When we face a mystery, however, we can only stare in wonder and bewilderment, not knowing what an explanation would even look like. ↗

— Noam Chomsky

#mysteries #problems #insight

The Chair I’m writing to you, who made the archaic wooden chair look like a throne while you sat on it. Amidst your absence, I choose to sit on the floor, which is dusty as a dry Kansas day. I am stoic as a statue of Buddha, not wanting to bother the old wooden chair, which has been silent now for months. In this sunlit moment I think of you. I can still picture you sitting there-- your forehead wrinkled like an un-ironed shirt, the light splashed on your face, like holy water from St. Joseph’s. The chair, with rounded curves like that of a full-figured woman, seems as mellow as a monk in prayer. The breeze blows from beyond the curtains, as if your spirit has come back to rest. Now a cloud passes overhead, and I hush, waiting to hear what rests so heavily on the chair’s lumbering mind. Do not interrupt, even if the wind offers to carry your raspy voice like a wispy cloud. ↗

— Jarod Kintz

#chair #insightful #metaphor #peaceful #pensive

Good writing is always about things that are important to you, things that are scary to you, things that eat you up. ↗

— John Edgar Wideman

#importance-of-words #insightful #writing-craft #writing-craft

As an improviser, I always find it jarring when I meet someone in real life whose first answer is no. “No, we can’t do that.” “No, that’s not in the budget.” “No, I will not hold your hand for a dollar.” What kind of way is that to live? ↗

— Tina Fey

#life

The importance of building relationships among colleagues, of trying to create coalitions behind the issues that you are championing, was not something I ever had much insight into until I was elected and started serving in the Senate. ↗

— Hillary Clinton

#behind #building #championing #coalitions #colleagues

We have the insight and the tools to identify and bring to fruition the dormant talent that our artists possess. Favored Nations will be branded as the home base for inspired musical talent. ↗

— Steve Vai

#base #branded #bring #dormant #favored

It's only a drawback in the States, where most people seem to have no real interest in other countries and the notion of a novel which might offer insight into life in the UK doesn't seem to appeal very widely. ↗

— Jonathan Coe

#countries #drawback #insight #interest #into

I know of no single formula for success. But over the years I have observed that some attributes of leadership are universal and are often about finding ways of encouraging people to combine their efforts, their talents, their insights, their enthusiasm and their inspiration to work together. ↗

— Elizabeth II

#attributes #combine #efforts #encouraging #enthusiasm

People got insights into what was bothering them, but they hardly did a damn thing to change. ↗

— Albert Ellis

#change #damn #damn thing #did #got

Our willingness to acknowledge that we only see half the picture creates the conditions that make us more attractive to others. The more sincerely we acknowledge our need for their different insights and perspectives, the more they will be magnetized to join us. ↗

— Margaret J. Wheatley

#attractive #conditions #creates #different #half