I watched her face switch among the radio stations of memory Diane Ackerman More Quotes by Diane Ackerman More Quotes From Diane Ackerman The senses don't just make sense of life in bold or subtle acts of clarity, they tear reality apart into vibrant morsels and reassemble them into a meaningful pattern. Diane Ackerman tears meaningful reality Human beings are sloshing sacks of chemicals on the move. Diane Ackerman chemicals humans moving Success produces success, just as money produces money. Diane Ackerman positive-attitude produce success We would lie on coral sand, below sugary stars, watching Cassiopeia mount her throne and the Great Bear wash its paws in the South. I would say, "I have a secret to tell you." And, folding me in your arms, boyish and sly, you would answer: "Whisper it into my mouth. Diane Ackerman stars secret lying Love is like a batik created from many emotional colors, it is a fabric whose pattern and brightness may vary. Diane Ackerman emotional color love-is Knee-deep in the cosmic overwhelm, I’m stricken by the ricochet wonder of it all: the plain everythingness of everything, in cahoots with the everythingness of everything else. Diane Ackerman ricochet knees wonder In our heart we know that life loves life. Yet we feast on some of the other life-forms with which we share our planet; we kill to live. Taste is what carries us across that rocky moral terrain, what makes the horror palatable, and the paradox we could not defend by reason melts into a jungle of sweet temptations. Diane Ackerman love-life heart sweet Much of life becomes background, but it is the province of art to throw buckets of light into the shadows and make life new again. Diane Ackerman shadow light art Look in the mirror. The face that pins you with its double gaze reveals a chastening secret. Diane Ackerman keeping-secrets knowing-who-you-are mirrors For me, life offers so many complexly appealing moments that two beautiful objects may be equally beautiful for different reasons and at different times. How can one choose? Diane Ackerman different beautiful two A poem records emotions and moods that lie beyond normal language, that can only be patched together and hinted at metaphorically. Diane Ackerman records together lying Love is the best school, but the tuition is high and the homework can be painful. Diane Ackerman tuition love school Symbolic of life, hair bolts from our head[s]. Like the earth, it can be harvested, but it will rise again. We can change its color and texture when the mood strikes us, but in time it will return to its original form, just as Nature will in time turn our precisely laid-out cities into a weed-way. Diane Ackerman weed color hair A flower's fragrance declares to all the world that it is fertile, available, and desirable, its sex organs oozing with nectar. Its smell reminds us in vestigial ways of fertility, vigor, life-force, all the optimism, expectancy, and passionate bloom of youth. We inhale its ardent aroma and, no matter what our ages, we feel young and nubile in a world aflame with desire. Diane Ackerman flower spring sex The great affair, the love affair with life, Diane Ackerman beautiful life country Libraries change lives. They are the soul of a people. Diane Ackerman life-changing soul people And yet, words are the passkeys to our souls. Without them, we can't really share the enormity of our lives. Diane Ackerman our-lives soul share Nothing is more memorable than a smell. One scent can be unexpected, momentary and fleeting, yet conjure up a childhood summer beside a lake in the mountains... Diane Ackerman nature summer memories I'm fascinated how often and with what whole-heartedness people will risk their lives to perform acts of courage, sacrifice, and compassion for total strangers. Diane Ackerman sacrifice compassion people The visual image is a kind of tripwire for the emotions. Diane Ackerman design emotion kind