86 Quotes by Maria Popova

Beyond any human lifetime, and often within it, what is recorded is what is remembered, the records gradually displacing the actuality of lived events. And what is recorded is a fraction of what is thought, felt, acted out, lived – a fraction at best edited by the very act of its selection, at worst warped by rationalization or fictionalized by a deliberate retelling of reality.

What is love, after all, if not an affectionate acceptance of the lover’s full spectrum of being, the silly along with the solemn?

Those marginalized for one aspect of their nature are bound to have sympathies with those marginalized for another, but no marginalized group moves to the center solely by its own efforts – such is the paradox of power. It takes a gravitational pull by those kindred to the cause who are already in relative positions of power or privilege.

We are always harshest upon those foibles we see in others that we know bedevil our own natures – the ones that most gravely misbecome our self image – for blame is always easier than shame.

The real wealth of the Nation lies in the resources of the earth – soil, water, forests, minerals, and wildlife. To utilize them for present needs while insuring their preservation for future generations requires a delicately balanced and continuing program, based on the most extensive research. Their administration is not properly, and cannot be, a matter of politics.