Now,

Every day one should at least hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture, and, if it were possible, speak a few sensible words.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

The weekend begins now.

Happy Birthday, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Tischbein, Goethe in the Roman Campagna, 1787

To-day I have had a scene, which, if literally related, would make the most beautiful idyl in the world. But why should I talk of poetry and scenes and idyls? Can we never take pleasure in nature without having recourse to art?

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Pleasure.

Tischbein, Goethe in the Roman Campagna, 1787

To-day I have had a scene, which, if literally related, would make the most beautiful idyl in the world. But why should I talk of poetry and scenes and idyls? Can we never take pleasure in nature without having recourse to art?

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Happy Birthday, Goethe

Stieler, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 1828

A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, born on this day in 1749

Pause.

All beginnings are delightful; the threshold is the place to pause.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 

Thanks for the image, Walker's Arms.

Daring.

Howe, Bow Wave, 1940

Daring ideas are like chessmen moved forward. They may be beaten, but they may start a winning game.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Happy Birthday, Goethe

POET

Speak not to me of yonder motley masses,
Whom but to see, puts out the fire of Song!
Hide from my view the surging crowd that passes,
And in its whirlpool forces us along!
No, lead me where some heavenly silence glasses
The purer joys that round the Poet throng,—
Where Love and Friendship still divinely fashion
The bonds that bless, the wreaths that crown his passion!
Ah, every utterance from the depths of feeling
The timid lips have stammeringly expressed,—
Now failing, now, perchance, success revealing,—
Gulps the wild Moment in its greedy breast;
Or oft, reluctant years its warrant sealing,
Its perfect stature stands at last confessed!
What dazzles, for the Moment spends its spirit:
What's genuine, shall Posterity inherit.

Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe, born on this day in 1749, from Faust

Repose.

Monet, Haystacks, End of Summer, 1891

SONG of the TRAVELLER at EVENING

Over all the hills now,

Repose.

In all the trees now

Shows

Barely a breath. Birds are through

That sang in their wood to the west.

Only wait, traveller. Rest

Soon for you too.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Good riddance, Summer.  Now, on to the grand and glorious Oyster Months.

Importance.

He alone is great and happy who requires neither to command nor to obey in order to secure his being of some importance in this world. 

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

AC⚡DC, "Realize"

It sounds different.  Of course it does ...

Garden.

Unknown, Townspeople of Medicine Hat, Alberta, 1885

The world is so empty if one thinks only of mountains, rivers & cities; but to know someone who thinks and feels with us, and who, though distant, is close to us in spirit, this makes the earth for us an inhabited garden.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Activity.

I hate everything which merely instructs me without increasing or directly quickening my activity.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Understanding.

Tischbein , Goethe in the Roman Campagna, 1787

To know someone here or there with whom you can feel there is understanding in spite of distances or thoughts expressed, that can make life a garden.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Engage.

Lose this day loitering – ’twill be the same story
To-morrow – and the next more dilatory;
Each indecision brings its own delays,
And days are lost lamenting o’er lost days,
Are you in earnest? Sieze this very minute –
Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.
Only engage, and then the mind grows heated –
Begin it, and then the work will be completed!

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Committed.

Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative and creation, there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans:  that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred.  A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and material assistance which no person could have dreamed would have come his or her way.  Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now.

Johann Wolgang von Goethe

Spiritual.

Thank you, Wrath of Gnon.

Half.

Experience ...

... is only half ...

... of experience.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Power.

Houghton, Blue Coast, undated

I have come to the frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element. It is my personal approach that creates the climate. It is my daily mood that makes the weather. I possess tremendous power to make life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration, I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal. In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis is escalated or de-escalated, and a person is humanized or de-humanized. If we treat people as they are, we make them worse. If we treat people as they ought to be, we help them become what they are capable of becoming.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Happy birthday, Goethe.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was born on this day in 1749.

The poet of the German enlightenment is best known for works such as, The Sufferings of Young Werner and the quintessential mad scientist story, Doctor Faustus (in which the protagonist sells his soul to the devil for knowledge). In an age when anyone with a pretence to an education was polymathic, he was widely acknowledged as a leading intellectual, and had many other important accomplishments that are now overshadowed by his artistic fame.

CONNECT

Carry.

You are aware of only one unrest;
Oh, never learn to know the other!
Two souls, alas, are dwelling in my breast,
And one is striving to forsake its brother.
Unto the world in grossly loving zest,
With clinging tendrils, one adheres;
The other rises forcibly in quest
Of rarefied ancestral spheres.
If there be spirits in the air
That hold their sway between the earth and sky,
Descend out of the golden vapors there
And sweep me into iridescent life.
Oh, came a magic cloak into my hands
To carry me to distant lands,
I should not trade it for the choicest gown,
Nor for the cloak and garments of the crown.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, from Faust

Iridescent.

You are aware of only one unrest;
Oh, never learn to know the other!
Two souls, alas, are dwelling in my breast,
And one is striving to forsake its brother.
Unto the world in grossly loving zest,
With clinging tendrils, one adheres;
The other rises forcibly in quest
Of rarefied ancestral spheres.
If there be spirits in the air
That hold their sway between the earth and sky,
Descend out of the golden vapors there
And sweep me into iridescent life.
Oh, came a magic cloak into my hands
To carry me to distant lands,
I should not trade it for the choicest gown,
Nor for the cloak and garments of the crown.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe