We often do not see what we do not expect to see. Alan Lightman More Quotes by Alan Lightman More Quotes From Alan Lightman No one knows the nature of God, or even if God exists. In a sense, all of our religions are literary works of the imagination. Alan Lightman literary-worksgod-existsimagination I consider myself a spiritual atheist. I certainly believe there are forces bigger than ourselves, and that we should be searching, individually, for meaning in our lives. But I don't believe there's a supreme being, an intelligence that created everything. Alan Lightman atheistspiritualbelieve All writers have roots they draw from - travel, work, family. My roots are in science and it is fertile ground for fiction. Alan Lightman work-familyrootsfiction I think e-mail is representative of our fast food mentality in the United States, where everything has gotten faster and faster, and we're required to respond to inputs more quickly with less time for thought and reflection. I believe that we need to slow down. Alan Lightman reflectionbelievethinking In this world, artists are joyous. Unpredictability is the life of their paintings, their music, their novels. They delight in events not forecasted, happenings without explanation, retrospective. Alan Lightman delighteventsartist Thoughts are no more than electrical surges in the brain. Sexual arousal is no more than a flow of chemicals to certain nerve endings. Sadness is no more than a bit of acid transfixed in the cerebellum. In short, the body is a machine, subject to the same laws of electricity and mechanics as an electron or clock. Alan Lightman sadnesslawbrain The book is finished by the reader. A good novel should invite the reader in and let the reader participate in the creative experience and bring their own life experiences to it, interpret with their own individual life experiences. Every reader gets something different from a book and every reader, in a sense, completes it in a different way. Alan Lightman creativebookway The history of science can be viewed as the recasting of phenomena that were once thought to be accidents as phenomena that can be understood in terms of fundamental causes and principles. Alan Lightman causesprinciplesfundamentals One metaphor for how we are living is that you see so may people with cell phones. In restaurants, walking, they have cell phones clamped to their to heads. When they are on their cell phones they are not where their bodies are...they are somewhere else in hyperspace. They are not grounded. We have become disembodied. By being always somewhere else we are nowhere. Alan Lightman phonescellssomewhere-else A person who cannot imagine the future is a person who cannot contemplate the results of his actions. Some are thus paralyzed into inaction. Alan Lightman resultsimagineaction You've made something grand, but it will be grander if it has feeling and beauty and harmony. Alan Lightman harmonymadefeelings Faith is the ability to honor stillness at some moments, and at others to ride the passion and exuberance. Alan Lightman passionmomentshonor I have a number of vague ideas where I just have the core or kernel of the idea. I feel like I need some time for my mind to fill up again. I feel empty. Right now. Alan Lightman mindnumbersideas The tragedy of this world is that no one is happy, whether stuck in atime of pain or of joy. The tragedy of this world is that everyone is alone. For a life in the past cannot be shared with the present. Each person who gets stuck in time gets stuck alone. Alan Lightman painjoypast While people brood, time skips ahead without looking back. Alan Lightman skipgenevapeople We've lost our way, we have lost our centeredness. We don't have the time, literally, to think during the day. To listen to ourselves think. To think about where we are going, who we are, what's important. I would bet most people don't have thirty minutes in a day where they can just sit down and think. Or maybe they don't have to be sitting, they can be walking. Alan Lightman importantpeoplethinking A writer is someone who has a one-man tent in the desert and occasionally he sees the footprint of an other writer - in the form of a review or something. Alan Lightman deserttentsmen I re-read a lot of books that I like a lot. There are some books that I try to reread every couple of years. A good book changes for you every few years because you are in a different place in your own life. Alan Lightman couplebookyears We're plugged in 24 hours a day now. We're all part of one big machine, whether we are conscious of that or not. And if we can't unplug from that machine, eventually we're going to become mindless. Alan Lightman hoursmachinesconscious I have no opposition at all to technology. I think technology is a wonderful thing that has to be used thoughtfully, and we can't just assume that every bit of new technology improvesthe quality of life; it's really in how the technology is used. What I am very disturbed about is this trend of everything happening faster and faster and faster and there being more and more general noise in the world, and less and less time for quiet reflection on who we are, and where we're going. Alan Lightman technologyreflectionthinking
