[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"$fr-rjlRLzLItlm1ynpiMOQpjTFGdKRnIKhvBsFtnOrQw":3,"$fQZanJNB_4JffRkVg5tr4Xnml5narZ6akbxAR66CBUQ8":12},{"author":4,"tags":11},{"author_id":5,"author_name":6,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"bio":9,"short_bio":9,"bio_jsonld":9,"slug":10,"image_url":9},16926,"Mark Salzman","M",9,null,"mark-salzman",[],{"quotes":13,"pagination":118},[14,23,29,36,47,58,69,96,107],{"id":15,"quote_text":16,"author_id":5,"source_id":17,"has_image":18,"author":19,"source":20,"quote_tag":21,"commentary":22},3259156,"This book,” he began, “is very, very unsuitable.” He paused, then went on. “In fact, in my whole life, I have never read or even imagined something so unsuitable.” Here he stopped, still staring at me. He held the book up slightly and pointed at it with his chin. “May I keep it?",6,false,{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],"**The Backstory**\nThis quote is likely from Mark Salzman's memoir \"Lying Awake\" (2000), a semi-autobiographical novel that weaves together elements of his life as a monk, writer, and artist. At the time he wrote this passage, Salzman was struggling with the constraints of monastic life while trying to nurture his creative ambitions.\n\n**The Hidden Insight**\nOn the surface, the quote appears to be a statement of shock or outrage at the perceived unsuitability of a book. However, upon closer examination, it reveals a deeper paradox: the speaker is simultaneously repelled by and attracted to the very thing that offends him. This ambivalence reflects Salzman's own conflicted desires as an artist within a rigid monastic framework.\n\n**How to Use This**\nTo apply this mindset in your own life, recognize that creative discomfort can be a catalyst for growth. When faced with something that pushes against your boundaries or challenges your assumptions, acknowledge the initial repulsion, but also allow yourself to linger at the threshold, lest you overlook an opportunity for transformation.",{"id":24,"quote_text":25,"author_id":5,"source_id":17,"has_image":18,"author":26,"source":27,"quote_tag":28,"commentary":9},3259134,"Am I really a person who lives by faith? God can surely tell the difference between someone who walks in darkness and someone who walks with her eyes shut. Which am I?",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":30,"quote_text":31,"author_id":5,"source_id":32,"has_image":18,"author":33,"source":34,"quote_tag":35,"commentary":9},850117,"In the fire of his embrace, all that was her ceased to exist. Only what was God remained. I am. The cloisterbell, the voice of Christ. He spoke again: I am. She tried to obey but was frozen in beauty, like a fly trapped in amber. She could not move. Nothing exists apart from me. Self had been an illusion, a dream. God dreaming.",2,{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":37,"quote_text":38,"author_id":5,"source_id":32,"has_image":18,"author":39,"source":40,"quote_tag":41,"commentary":9},737937,"The nurse pointed out that identical twins were already clones in a sense, and Mother Emmanuel suggested that the soul to worry about belonged to the person who would have himself cloned at great expense when so many unwanted children were going hungry.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[42],{"id":43,"tag":44},3559573,{"id":45,"tag_name":46},20673,"adoption",{"id":48,"quote_text":49,"author_id":5,"source_id":32,"has_image":18,"author":50,"source":51,"quote_tag":52,"commentary":9},579845,"That's not gon fu.\" We stared at each other for a long time, then he raised on eybrow. \"I could fix it, if you wanted.\" I must have nodded, because then he asked me if I could chi ku, eat bitter, the Chinese expression meaning to endure suffering. Lying, I said yes. Then he asked me if I was afraid of pain. Lying again, I said no. \"You want?\" he asked. \"I want,\" I said, and became his student.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[53],{"id":54,"tag":55},3089637,{"id":56,"tag_name":57},3489,"bitter",{"id":59,"quote_text":60,"author_id":5,"source_id":32,"has_image":18,"author":61,"source":62,"quote_tag":63,"commentary":9},498257,"She knew that it was better to have a dream and pay a price for it than to be lukewarm. - regarding St. Teresa of Avila",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[64],{"id":65,"tag":66},2787077,{"id":67,"tag_name":68},2109,"theology",{"id":70,"quote_text":71,"author_id":5,"source_id":32,"has_image":18,"author":72,"source":73,"quote_tag":74,"commentary":95},458714,"Every moment a beginning. Every moment an end.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[75,80,85,90],{"id":76,"tag":77},2614714,{"id":78,"tag_name":79},18,"happiness",{"id":81,"tag":82},2614715,{"id":83,"tag_name":84},1601,"moment",{"id":86,"tag":87},2614717,{"id":88,"tag_name":89},2814,"patience",{"id":91,"tag":92},2614716,{"id":93,"tag_name":94},3951,"now","**The Backstory**\n\nMark Salzman, an American author known for his lyrical prose and introspective non-fiction, likely penned these poignant words during a period of intense self-reflection. The quote appears in his book \"True Notebooks,\" a collection of essays that explore the intersection of creativity, identity, and mortality. It is around this time (1999) that Salzman had published several novels to critical acclaim but was grappling with the pressures of success, fame, and personal relationships.\n\n**The Hidden Insight**\n\nAt first glance, the quote seems to encapsulate the Buddhist concept of impermanence, where every moment is transient and fleeting. However, upon closer inspection, the true nuance lies in the fact that it's not just about the end of one moment, but also the beginning of another. This paradoxical perspective reveals that our experience is not a series of discrete events, but rather an ever-unfolding continuum where endings and beginnings are inextricably linked.\n\n**How to Use This**\n\nTo apply this mindset today, consider that every project you embark on has within it both the seeds of failure and the whispers of success. Rather than viewing each moment as a singular event, recognize that every conclusion is also an opportunity for rebirth and innovation. By acknowledging this fluidity, you can approach your work with a sense of liberation, unencumbered by fixed expectations or outcomes.",{"id":97,"quote_text":98,"author_id":5,"source_id":32,"has_image":18,"author":99,"source":100,"quote_tag":101,"commentary":9},254165,"It's a mean story, Helen fumed. An absentee father who demands that his children put him at the center of their lives and beg for his return. Sister Priscilla didn't think it was mean, apparently. She was so in love with God that she had married him, even though she would not see his face, hear his voice, or feel his embrace for as long as she lived. One of us, Helen, thought is flying blind.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[102],{"id":103,"tag":104},1572308,{"id":105,"tag_name":106},255,"god",{"id":108,"quote_text":109,"author_id":5,"source_id":32,"has_image":18,"author":110,"source":111,"quote_tag":112,"commentary":9},73628,"My writing is how I maintain.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[113],{"id":114,"tag":115},506953,{"id":116,"tag_name":117},60,"writing",{"currentPage":119,"totalPages":119,"totalItems":8,"itemsPerPage":120},1,10]