And I refuse to feel guilty about not letter-writing either. There are times when one can, times when one can't. In the times when an enormous amount of living is going on, one can't. May Sarton More Quotes by May Sarton More Quotes From May Sarton Revision is not going back and fussing around, but going forward into the process of creation May Sarton revisioncreationprocess Loneliness is the poverty of self; solitude is the richness of self. May Sarton being-alonelonelyloneliness Fire is a good companion for the mind. May Sarton companionfiremind For any writer who wants to keep a journal, be alive to everything, not just to what you're feeling, but also to your pets, to flowers, to what you're reading. May Sarton flowerreadingfeelings ... if one does not have wild dreams of achievement, there is no spur even to get the dishes washed. One must think like a hero to behave like a merely decent human being. May Sarton herodreamthinking If we are to understand the human condition, and if we are to accept ourselves in all the complexity, self-doubt, extravagance of feeling, guilt, joy, the slow freeing of the self to its full capacity for action and creation, both as human being and as artist, we have to know all we can about each other, and we have to be willing to go naked. May Sarton artistselfjoy The woman who needs to create works of art is born with a kind of psychic tension in her which drives her unmercifully to find a way to balance, to make herself whole. Every human being has this need: in the artist it is mandatory. Unable to fulfill it, he goes mad. But when the artist is a woman she fulfills it at the expense of herself as a woman. May Sarton psychicsmadart Does anything in nature despair except man? An animal with a foot caught in a trap does not seem to despair. It is too busy trying to survive. It is all closed in, to a kind of still, intense waiting. Is this a key? Keep busy with survival. Imitate the trees. Learn to lose in order to recover, and remember that nothing stays the same for long, not even pain, psychic pain. Sit it out. Let it all pass. Let it go. May Sarton painnatureletting-go How slowly one comes to understand anything! May Sarton One does not "find oneself" by pursuing one's self, but on the contrary by pursuing something else and learning through discipline or routine. . . who one is and wants to be. May Sarton being-yourselfdisciplinedoe Words are more powerful than perhaps anyone suspects, and once deeply engraved in a child's mind, they are not easily eradicated. May Sarton entrepreneurpowerfulchildren It is good for a professional to be reminded that his professionalism is only a husk, that the real person must remain an amateur, a lover of the work. May Sarton loversrealwork If art is not to be life-enhancing, what is it to be? Half the world is feminine - why is there resentment at a female-oriented art? Nobody asks The Tale of Genji to be masculine! Women certainly learn a lot from books oriented toward a masculine world. Why is not the reverse also true? Or are men really so afraid of women's creativity? May Sarton bookchildrenart There is no doubt that solitude is a challenge and to maintain balance within it a precarious business. But I must not forget that, for me, being with people or even with one beloved person for any length of time without solitude is even worse. I lose my center. I feel dispersed, scattered, in pieces. I must have time alone in which to mull over my encounter, and to extract its juice, its essence, to understand what has really happened to me as a consequence of it. May Sarton essencechallengespeople Gardening is an instrument of grace. May Sarton gardeninginstrumentsgrace Your poems will happen when no one is there. May Sarton happens We cannot afford not to fight for growth and understanding, even when it is painful, as it is bound to be. May Sarton growthfightingunderstanding Love opens the doors into everything, as far as I can see, including and perhaps most of all, the door into one's own secret, and often terrible and frightening, real self. May Sarton realstrugglebelieve We are able to laugh when we achieve detachment, if only for a moment. May Sarton ablehumorlaughing Don't forget that compared to a grownup person every baby is a genius. May Sarton geniusforgetbaby
