Child Number Two quoted Ernest Hemingway to me this morning, on the subject of writing. I'm not a big reader of Hemingway, but I love this quote:
"The most solid advice for a writer is this, I think:
Try to learn to breathe deeply,
really to taste food when you eat,
and when you sleep, really to sleep.
Try as much as possible to be wholly alive
with all your might, and when you laugh,
laugh like hell.
And when you get angry, get good and angry.
Try to be alive,
You will be dead soon enough."
Thinking about this quote makes me want to walk in the woods, take up boxing, ride a Ferris wheel, and drink red wine. Also to write.
Have a lovely week -- breathe deeply.
Great quote! Great post.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Robin -- I was totally serious about the boxing thing (found a place yesterday), but then I had to scrub extra grout off the new shower walls and got tired.
DeleteMaybe I'll just go watch boxing.
Scrubbing grout should be a sport.
DeleteAlso Power washing. And maybe checkers, if it's a really vigorous game with a lot of jumping.
DeleteOh Lynne, I love this. Too often we spend our time trying to get things done and don't get to enjoy the doing. It reminds me of John Lennon's Beautiful Boy - "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans."
ReplyDeleteYes. I'd like to walk in the woods, too. Listen to bird songs, laugh like hell and dine with friends - often - for long slow meals that go from soup to nuts (says the Sicilian in me)... no boxing though, I'm afraid.
Mmmm, Sicilian food. I forgot about Sicilian food...
DeleteYou hear this sentiment in so many ways but it never hurts to hear it one more time. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteHave you considered some kind of marital arts?
I have considered some martial arts, but I just watched a yoga video once to see how it was done and even that exhausted me.
ReplyDeleteAlthough boxing -- that would be extraordinary to research, don't you think? Probably sweaty, too. Hm. Let me think about this a bit more.
I'm hoping that was a typo -- "martial arts" and not actually "marital"...
What a great quote! As writers, we really should "feel" life in every aspect. The more we know about life, the more we can put into our characters. Thanks, Lynne!
ReplyDeleteDoes this mean you'll get on the Ferris wheel with me, Maggie?
DeleteThanks for stopping by :)
Thanks for sharing, Lynne. I'll add this to my collection I share with my students when teaching about a writer's journal and noticing like xplain to my students "noticing" like a writer. I've always experienced the world through that lens, but I realized much later in life that many people don't. I love Pilates and the elliptical. Boxing sound fun but exhausting. :)
DeleteSorry for the extra words. Used my phone and didn't preview. Hope you still got the gist of my message. LOL :)
DeleteIt is a great quote to share, Jolyse. Thanks for stopping in!
ReplyDeleteLove this quote. Thanks for sharing it. It's a good reminder on so many levels. I am printing it and hanging it on the refrigerator :)
ReplyDeletexo