No facts are to me sacred; none are profane; I simply experiment, an endless seeker, with no past at my back.
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes the importance of curiosity and experimentation in the pursuit of knowledge without being bound by past experiences.
Ralph Waldo Emerson reflects on the nature of knowledge and learning, suggesting that a true seeker of understanding should remain open-minded and willing to explore ideas without being limited by established beliefs or experiences. He advocates for a mindset that values experimentation and continuous inquiry, rather than adhering strictly to societal norms or previously accepted truths.
In practice
Using this quote in a lecture on the importance of scientific inquiry.
It is plain that there is no separate essence called courage, no cup or cell in the brain, no vessel in the heart containing drops or atoms that make or give this virtue; but it is the right or healthy state of every man, when he is free to do that which is constitutional to him to do.
Few people have any next, they live from hand to mouth without a plan, and are always at the end of their line.
Men cease to interest us when we find their limitations
Tis the good reader that makes the good book; a good head cannot read amiss: in every book he finds passages which seem confidences or asides hidden from all else and unmistakeably meant for his ear.
The world belongs to the energetic.
Hast thou named all the birds without a gun?
My teacher Tom Spanbauer, the man who got me started writing in his workshop, used to say: 'Writers write because they weren't invited to a party.' That always struck so true, and people always nod their heads when they hear that. Especially writers.
Itβs funny. I met a man once who did a lot of mountain climbing. I asked him which was harder, ascending or descending? He said without a doubt descending, because ascending you were so focused on reaching the top, you avoided mistakes. The backside of a mountain is a fight against human nature,β he said. βYou have to care as much about yourself on the way down as you did on the way up.
Being born in a duck yard does not matter, if only you are hatched from a swan's egg.
People do not want advice - they want corroboration.
I was faced with a choice: to deny my addiction and embrace that 'comfortably numb' but 'magicless' existence, or accept the burden of insight, take the road less travelled, and embark on the often painful journey to discover who I was and where I fit.
In todays economy, the most important resource is no longer labor, capital or land; it is knowledge
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