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Friday, January 20, 2023

A New Quote Leads To A New Writer

"Writing is ... that oddest of anomolies: an intimate letter to a stranger." Pico Iyer

My first thought when I read this new-to-me quote this morning was that I would hold it until February 17 and then post it as part of a birthday greeting for/to my younger brother. And I may still do that as he is the real writer in the family having already published five books. All I was going to do with the quote today was use it as a lead in for the thoughts it inspires in me relating to my life.

But first I wanted to know a bit more about the person who wrote it - someone I had never heard of before. He is, I discovered, a well known author, best known as a travel writer and essayist. Neither of my libraries has any of his books but he has a website with many of his essays which I plan to delve into in the coming days.

For today, I'll just share a few more of his quotes that also speak to me:

"A person susceptible to "wanderlust" is not so much addicted to movement as committed to transformation."

"Serendipity was my tour guide, assisted by caprice." Hubby Dearest will like this one, he often attributed some of the best 'finds' on our trips to serendipity.

"In an age of speed, I began to think, nothing could be more invigorating than going slow. In an age of distraction, nothing can feel more luxurious than paying attention. And in an age of constant movement, nothing is more urgent than sitting still."

This last one is from his book The Art of Stillness: Adventures in Going Nowhere. This is probably the first book I would get. But until then, oh, I am going to enjoy reading some of those essays.

"The beauty of any first time is that it leads to a thousand others..."

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