Saturday, May 21, 2011

The End Didn't Come Today, But Life Is Still Short


I met one of my writing heroes today.

Poet and essayist Emma Lou Thayne spoke for about an hour this afternoon in Salt Lake City at the King's English, one of my favorite independent bookstores.

As she shared some of her fascinating life experiences, she mentioned a saying from Thailand that she quoted in her recent memoir, The Place of Knowing: A Spiritual Autobiography.

"Life is so short we must live very slowly."

Her interpretation of living life slowly is to pay attention, and for her, writing provides a powerful way to pay attention.

At 86, she is in a place of knowing. At 47, I believe I am starting to learn how to get there.

2 comments:

Kazzy said...

Ooooo I love this quote. I am trying to get there too. Good goal and great life philosophy.

Robin said...

What a beautiful cover! It makes me long for slow summer evenings.