It is not the act of making art that is painful. It is the desire to make something and not acting on it that causes pain....A day when I don't write is less happy. This is not discipline. It is affection, enthusiasm, adventure-any number of other words besides discipline.

Judging your early artistic efforts is artist abuse. . . Remember that in order to recover as an artist, you must be willing to be a bad artist. Give yourself permission to be a beginner. By being willing to be a bad artist, you have a chance to be an artist, and perhaps, over time, a very good one

Sometimes the dying live more fiercely and wisely than the rest of us. (146)

In recovering from our creative blocks, it is necessary to go gently and slowly... These are baby steps. Progress, not perfection, is what we should be asking of ourselves.

As children we hoard and gloat over words. Words give ownership: we name our world and we claim it...Children trust the power of words.

Pray to catch the bus, then run as fast as you can.

Creativity makes life useful to us. It also makes us useful to life.