The purpose of life is to discover your gifts. The work of life is to develop them. And the meaning of life is to give them away.
I like David Viscott’s quote with the gift pluralized in it to suit my beliefs. I believe we have many gifts, not just one.
The purpose of life is to discover your gift. The work of life is to develop it. The meaning of life is to give your gift away.
… a good ecologist must have a broad synthetic mind, an ability to practice strong inference, and a sense of place or a feel for nature (that is, they must be respectful, alert, observant, and intuitive).
— Paul K. Dayton (Observation & Ecology : Broadening the Scope of Science to Understand a Complex World)
In a previous post, I shared David W. Orr’s writing about Fast & Slow Knowledge. Here are some more from scholars & friends who opened me to different meanings of knowledge & knowing.
“To me the most interesting thing about man is that he is an animal who practices art and science and, in every known society, practices both together.”
— Jacob Bronowski
“A picture is the expression of an impression. If the beautiful were not in us, how would we ever recognize it?”
— Ernst Haas
Khing, the master carver, made a bell stand of precious wood. When it was finished, all who saw it were astounded. They said it must be the work of spirits.
The prince of Lu said to the master carver: “What is your secret?” Khing replied: