Grandfather's been dead all these years, but if you lifted my skull, by God, in the convolutions of my brain you'd find the big ridges of his thumbprint. He touched me. As I said earlier, he was a sculptor. 'I hate a Roman named Status Quo!' he said to me. 'Stuff your eyes with wonder,' he said, 'live as if you'd drop dead in ten seconds. See the world. It's more fantastic than any dream made or paid for in factories.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the lasting impact of experiences and the importance of living life fully and embracing wonder.
Ray Bradbury's quote reflects on the profound influence of his grandfather, illustrating how the impressions and teachings of loved ones remain etched in our minds. The exhortation to 'see the world' and 'live as if you'd drop dead in ten seconds' underscores a philosophy of adventure, appreciation for life’s beauty, and a rejection of stagnation and complacency. By encouraging us to fill our lives with wonder and exploration, Bradbury advocates for an engaged and enthusiastic approach to existence, highlighting that true richness can be found in observation and experience rather than material possessions.
In practice
During a motivational speech on life experiences.
I've written about 2,000 short stories; I've only published 300 and I feel I'm still learning. Any man who keeps working is not a failure. He may not be a great writer, but if he applies the old fashioned virtues of hard, constant labor, he'll eventually make some kind of career for himself as a writer. Ray Bradbury, 1967 interview (Doing the Math - that means for every story he sold, he wrote six "un-publishable" ones. Keep typing!)
I never went to college, so I went to the library.
There must be something in books, something we can’t imagine, to make a woman stay in a burning house; there must be something there. You don’t stay for nothing.
I think the sun is a flower, That blooms for just one hour.
The first thing a writer should be is - excited. He should be a thing of fevers and enthusiasms. Without such vigor, he might as well be out picking peaches or digging ditches; God knows it'd be better for his health.
You can't try to do things; you simply must do them.
If one oversteps the bounds of moderation, the greatest pleasures cease to please.
Pleasures, riches, honor and joy are sure to have care, disgrace, adversity and affliction in their train. There is no pleasure without pain, no joy without sorrow. O the folly of expecting lasting felicity in a vale of tears, or a paradise in a ruined world.
One should not wish to enjoy where one does not give joy.
I divide the world into three Classes - The few who make things happen, the many who watch things happen, the overwhelming majority who have no notion of what happens.
Dad had a way of disarming people because he never really directly attacked them. He might attack a principle, but he never attacked the individual.
Remember that you own what happened to you. If your childhood was less than ideal, you may have been raised thinking that if you told the truth about what really went on in your family, a long bony white finger would emerge from a cloud and point to you, while a chilling voice thundered, "We *told* you not to tell." But that was then. Just put down on paper everything you can remember now about your parents and siblings and relatives and neighbors, and we will deal with libel later on.
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