Orthodox Judaism is a thicket of detailed injunctions, Biblical commandments elaborated during centuries of prohibited proselytizing, functioning to limit interaction with outsiders. At the opposite extreme, Islam, still the most rapidly expanding of faiths, demands little immediate knowledge from those who would convert. The convert is permitted to enter and then to learn by participation, although there are plenty of detailed regulations and abstruse theological ideas to be pursued later, and the regulations do effectively separate believers from nonbelievers.
Mary Catherine BatesonImprovisation and new learning are not private processes; they are shared with others at every age. We are called to join in a dance whose steps must be learned along the way, so it is important to attend and respond. Even in uncertainty, we are responsible for our steps.
Mary Catherine BatesonImprovisation can be either a last resort or an established way of evoking creativity.
Mary Catherine BatesonThe timing of death, like the ending of a story, gives a changed meaning to what preceded it.
Mary Catherine BatesonWhat would it be like to have not only color vision but culture vision, the ability to see the multiple worlds of others.
Mary Catherine Bateson