Poetic

Every step is a first step. Every brushstroke is a test. Every scene is a lesson. Every shot is a school. So let the learning continue.

The truth is, you have signed up for a life of service by going into the Arts. And the life-altering results of that service in other people's lives will never disappear as fame unquestionably will.

Trees, as it turns out, grow out of the air, not out of the ground! That is a beautiful thing to contemplate. And getting the special glasses that allow me to look at the world this way, well for me, that is a really good reason that I went to college.

What is it you're doing with this one wild and precious life of yours?

Ideally, we lose ourselves in what we read only to return to ourselves transformed, and part of a more expansive world.

Each moment is a procession from the future into the past and the sweet spot is always the present. Live in that sweet spot. Be present.

Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature.

It's easier to friend someone than to be someone's friend. It's easier to like things than to love them. It's easier to say nothing — but people who become used to saying nothing become used to being nobody.

Hold fast to your dreams, for when dreams die, life is like a broken-winged bird that cannot fly.

Silence is the vital precursor to voice. Gather your voice in your silence. Listen to it in your own head before you give it away.

Fear or faith, which will be our master? Fear is whispered in our ears and shouted in our faces. Faith must be fostered by the man or woman you see every day in the mirror.

To create in those waters, we must have more than an optimist's escapism. Today, to create is to hope. To create is to live.