53 Quotes by Kathy Mattea

That’s the great paradox of living on this earth, that in the midst of great pain you can have great joy as well. If we didn’t have those things we’d just be numb.

You have to write badly to write at all. If it’s crappy, I will rewrite it later. But it will be mine. You can hear the resonance of an artist who goes into herself.

I can’t even say I’ve begun yet, but I’m trying on the idea that there is a book in my future.

So I really did stop and change what I saw I was about, and really try to put that principle into play as the center of everything – my friendships, my marriage, my career, my family, my way of being in the world. And that changed everything for me.

Or if I have my head in the results, I can’t work with what I have, because I’m trying to force something to happen. And with singing, any time you force it, you tighten up. If you tighten up, you’re screwed, nothing will work.

I’ve come to understand my role. On some level, I provide the context for them to shine. I also know my role is the steward of the songs, and the center point, the artist that the stuff all revolves around. But I really try to honor that.

I guess the biggest thing is that I committed to a spiritual center before I do anything else. And I put some daily things in my life into practice and I maintain that, to make sure that I don’t drop the ball.

You have to listen to what resonates within your own gut. You find your direction there. Your voice comes out.