Every once in awhile you come across a quote that resonates with you, one you look at and think, “Wish I’d said that!” The following quote of Virginia Hamilton’s pretty much did that for me today.
I think, I dream, and writing is who I am. How much time I spend at it, who I write for, why I wrote, and what next I will write, fall into the realm of propaganda. The fact is that I must write and writing is work, hard and exacting….. Virginia Hamilton, from “Portrait of the Author as a Working Writer.”
Gee, kind of wish I’d said that. Oh right, I already said that.
While I’m pretty sure I’ll never have anything quotable to say about writing, or life in general, it’s nice to know that there are those out there capable of expressing our thoughts and feelings for us. Not only that, when we read such quotes, it feels so right and true, we might very well have written them ourselves. Perhaps that’s the key. A truth is something that, the moment we read it or hear it, we believe it. Not only do we believe it but we know it. There’s no room for doubt. Doubt doesn’t exist. No need to try and convince others. You either know it or you don’t.
While I do suppose we are all born with these truths within us, my pearls of wisdom are not as eloquently expressed as Virginia Hamilton. Still, these tiny seeds of wisdom lie dormant within each one of us until something triggers them; they grow and blossom, and erupt into full bloom. Luckily, someone eventually steps forward to remind the rest of us. Yes, we all possess wisdom, whether we admit it or not. Wisdom isn’t always something profound. Sometimes the greatest wisdom comes in the simplest form.
“There are all kinds of wisdom in the world, Pru. It’s in everything from a sunrise to a dewdrop. It doesn’t have to be complicated. Complicating things is our own doing. We’re handed life on a platter. It should be so easy,” said Mama as she clasped her hand around the delicate golden thread she had dug from the ground.” Bitter, Sweet
If you have any pearls of wisdom to pass along I’d love to hear, or perhaps you have a great quote you’d like to share. This is your moment make the rest of us shout, Wish I’d said that!
Laura Best 
Lynn
/ November 13, 2010Yes, I have read things and exclaimed, Oh I wish I had said that!
I don’t know if it would be considered words of wisdom or just my own personal revelation, but about ten days ago I wrote these words to a friend: “I found the secret to enjoying life. Find something to do that you love doing and the joy from that will spread over your life.” For me it is writing. There have been other things, creative things, that I have done and very much enjoyed, but writing is different. Writing comes from deep inside me, is a part of who I am, and is an extension of myself.
Now, I did not say ‘I found the secret of life’, because for me that is the Lord, but ‘the secret of enjoying life’ is taking the creative passion that He has put in me and letting it have expression.
Maybe I should have just answered your question with YES! 🙂
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Laura Best
/ November 14, 2010“I found the secret to enjoying life. Find something to do that you love doing and the joy from that will spread over your life.”—Sounds pretty wise to me and I think you hit the nail on the head with that one, Lynn!
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Carol Ann Hoel
/ November 13, 2010I can’t think of anything new I’ve heard lately, but I’ll quote from the Bible, a great source of wisdom.
Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.
Blessings, Linda, and have a great weekend.
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Laura Best
/ November 14, 2010The Bible of course is the ultimated Word of wisdom.
And I’m thinking you meant to call me Laura. LOL!
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Carol Ann Hoel
/ November 14, 2010Yes, I certainly did mean Laura. Hm. I was getting really tired. Can’t think of an excuse other than that. Ha! Forgive me, Laura.
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Hilary MacLeod
/ November 14, 2010Actually Laura, I like your quote about wisdom better than Virginia Hamilton’s quote about writing. I don’t think you have to “wish you’d said that.”
Here’s one I like about writing:
“In the art of archery, long years must pass where one learns simply the art of drawing the bow and fitting the arrow.”
— Zen in the Art of Writing
Ray Bradbury
And my own pearl of wisdom. The last line of my book “Revenge of the Lobster Lover”: “What is friendship, if not love?”
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Laura Best
/ November 14, 2010Well thanks Hilary, but those pearls of wisdom did come from Isadora Burbidge..LOL!
Your Ray Bradbury quote is a pretty good one!
But I absolutely LOVE your pearl of wisdom.
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Helen
/ November 14, 2010Thanks for sharing that Virginia Hamilton quote. I’m always relieved when I hear writers talking about writing being hard work, because a lot of the time, I feel like it’s hard work.
I like this pearl of wisdom from Picasso:
“Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working.”
I guess that goes back to my feeling that writing is hard work. You have to keep going, even when you don’t feel like it, because when that moment of inspiration strikes you want to be in a position to make the most of it.
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Laura Best
/ November 14, 2010Yes, writing is hard work. Sometimes I forget that and I start to wonder why things aren’t going so great when I’m working on a story.
“Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working.”—-Yes, that is so very true.
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writerwoman61
/ November 14, 2010Every day, I put a book-related quote up on our bookstore Fan Page on Facebook…I like this one by G.K. Chesterton: ”A good novel tells us the truth about its hero; but a bad novel tells us the truth about its author.”
Wendy
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Laura Best
/ November 14, 2010Interesting quote, Wendy and it’s a good one. That’s a great idea about putting a book-related quote on your fan page!
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joylene
/ November 14, 2010Great post, Laura. Wish I had some huge bouts of wisdom to pass along. Some days I’m just weighed down with wisdom and other days… duh. Today’s Sunday, must be the reason. Plus we had our 5-year-old grandson here for the weekend and frankly, I’m exhausted. LOL. But I’m sure some tidbits of wisdom will return … soon. Maybe by Tuesday.
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Laura Best
/ November 14, 2010I agree. It’s difficult to show our true wisdom when we’re exhausted. I’m sure you have plenty of pearls to pass along otherwise.
How lucky for you to have your grandson for the weekend.
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Moira Young
/ November 15, 2010One that I’ve made my slogan was actually inspired by a theme that another writer seemed to be on. She kept going on about how if we shouldn’t write to satisfy a trend, then we should write to satisfy ourselves. If we don’t see what’s out there that we want to read, we need to *write* it ourselves. Now, I’ve heard the Ghandi quote, “Be the change you wish to see in the world”, and these ideas came together to become, “Write the stories you wish to read in the world.” It’s become a personal truth.
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