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“We are all still romantics at heart. The romantics gave us back our moon, for instance, which science has taken away from us and made into just another airport. Secretly, we all want the moon to be what it was before - a mysterious, hypnotic light in the sky. We want love to be mysterious too, as it used to be, and not a set of psychotherapeutic rules for interpersonal relationships. We crave mystery even as we forge ahead toward the solution of one cosmic mystery after another.” - Leonard Bernstein in The Infinite Variety of Music published by Simon & Schuster, and featured in the Points to Ponder column on the March 1985 issue of the Reader’s Digest magazine
And that’s the problem with growing into maturity: This world has a tendency of pulling the curtain back on just about every mystery. That’s part of the reason why we need to be spontaneous. My radio show tonight provides a few ways for you to be spontaneous in this well-ordered life. This blog contains some thoughts I’ve run across over the years.
“True enough, we all have obligations and duties toward our fellow men., But it does seem curious that in modern, neurotic society, men’s energies are consumed in making a living, and rarely in living itself. It takes a lot of courage for a man to declare, with clarity and simplicity, that the purpose of life is to enjoy it.” - Lin Yutang from The Pleasures of a Nonconformist published by World.
“Risk is essential. There is no growth or inspiration in staying within what is safe and comfortable. Once you find out what you do best, why not try something else?” - Alex Noble, and quoted in the Points to Ponder column on the March 1984 issue of the Reader’s Digest magazine
“Freedom is being able to do what you please without considering anyone except your wife, the police, your boss, your life-insurance company, your doctor, your airline, government authorities and your neighbors.” - Martin Buxbaum from Table Talk, and featured in the Points to Ponder column of the March 1984 issue of the Reader’s Digest magazine
“If we discovered that we had only five minutes left to say all we wanted to say, every telephone booth would be occupied by people calling other people to stammer that they loved them.” - Christopher Morley, and featured in the Points to Ponder column of the December 1983 issue of the Reader’s Digest magazine
If that isn’t reason to be spontaneous, especially with those you love, then I don’t what is…
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Don Jackson
