A writer is a palmist, reading the lines of the planet.
Interpretation
This quote compares a writer to a fortune teller who interprets the world around them.
Pico Iyer's quote suggests that a writer possesses a unique ability to observe and interpret the deeper meanings of life and existence, much like a palmist interprets the lines on a person's palm. Through their words, writers capture the essence of human experiences and the world itself, imparting wisdom and insights that resonate with readers.
In practice
In a creative writing workshop, to inspire participants to observe the world around them more deeply.
Quitting, for me, means not giving up, but moving on; changing direction not because something doesn’t agree with you, but because you don’t agree with something. It’s not a complaint, in other words, but a positive choice, and not a stop in one’s journey, but a step in a better direction. Quitting-whether a job or a habit-means taking a turn so as to be sure you’re still moving in the direction of your dreams.
I think one reason, obviously, that I spend so much time in one place is that I've been lucky enough to travel a lot, and now there are other different, invisible trains that are more interesting to me.
I've never meditated in my life. I don't practice yoga nor any religion. I'm a tourist on the realm of stillness.
We travel to open our hearts and eyes and learn more about the world than our newspapers will accommodate.
I'm no Buddhist monk, and I can't say I'm in love with renunciation in itself, or traveling an hour or more to print out an article I've written, or missing out on the N.B.A. Finals. But at some point, I decided that, for me at least, happiness arose out of all I didn't want or need, not all I did.
The one thing perhaps that technology hasn't always given us is a sense of how to make the wisest use of technology.
I don't want to criticize any other designers, but I have to say that many of the people involved in this industry - directors and producers - are trying to make their games more like movies. They are longing to make movies rather than making videogames.
Mediocre writers borrow; great writers steal.
For to articulate sweet sounds together Is to work harder than all these, and yet Be thought an idler by the noisy set Of bankers, schoolmasters, and clergymen The martyrs call the world.
In writing, I apply my feminine side and respect the mystery involved in creation.
In my work and in myself I reflect black people, women and men, as I reflect others. One day even the most self-protective ones will look into the mirror I provide and not be afraid.
It was never about having a Mohican haircut or wearing a ripped T-shirt. It was all about destruction, and the creative potential within that.
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