Quotes of the Weekend

May 19

Wisdom begins in wonder. 
Unknown


On Friday I had a conversation with a coworker during delicious brunch. We shared a little about each other, talked about writing, poetry, words of wisdom, and she shared her favorite quote with me. As it turns out, it is a perfect fit with today's quote and goes like this: "When you pay attention, everything in life comes to you as a teacher." Inspired or pushed by the thought behind these wise words, I've been trying to pay more attention in the past days. Not necessarily to things I don't notice or see otherwise already, but to just give a little extra regard to the things I do see. Here's what has caught my thoughts: I live in New York City, which is pretty amazing. I can tan on the roof with the view of the skyline in the background, and I can tan, because it's summer and warm! I have the perfect circumstances for people-watching, which is one of my favorite past time activities. Glorious. I used to play "Guess who gets off at Bedford" every time I ride the train home, but lately I've been coming up with new substitutes for that, as it seems the lines of hipster city new york have gotten blurrier and my margin of error has grown too large. The City smells. This necessarily is not wisdom or anything amazing that I'm being taught, but it is something that I've paid attention to more. Anyway...You can connect with people that tad bit more when you smile. I've been doing this for years now, but in the last few days I've been paying a little more attention to the people's faces, to their responses. And I've been trying to stretch the smile into a few words or an offer to help. But yes, paying attention pays off. And makes a difference in how you experience life.

May 20

No medicine cures what happiness cannot. 
Gabriel Garcia Marquez


Hmm.
Cures or prevents?
And even if that can be defined, I'm on the fence about this one.