I love the way my Commonplace Book shares processes and goals with collage art. The latter involves composing a work of art by pasting on a single surface various materials not normally associated with one another, such as newspaper clippings, parts of photographs, theater tickets, and fragments of an envelope. The result is a new whole.

I find great pleasure in seeing the connections between random bits and pieces I've been attracted to. What whole can I create from some quotations, an intriguing bit of wisdom from 1330 Quite Interesting Facts to Make Your Jaw Drop, a line from Fellini's film 81/2, and an Irish proverb?

"As I sit here, God is present,
Breathing life into me and into everything around me.
For a few moments I sit silently
and become aware of God's presence."
— from Sacred Space: The Prayer Book 2015 by The Irish Jesuits

"Your brain makes
a million new connections
every second."
— from 1339 Quite Interesting Facts to Make Your Jaw Drop by John Lloyd, John Matchinson, and James Harkin

"I've had my dog for so long he's like my child.
And after all these years,
there are two things I know for sure.
First, my dog definitely has Buddha nature.
No doubt about it!
And second, whether he has Buddha nature
or not makes no difference to him.
Just throw the ball!"
— Tim Burkett in Nothing is Holy

"I can't think of any sorrow in the world that a hot bath wouldn't help, just a little bit.
— Susan Glasee in Less Is More by Mina Parker

In Federico Fellini's the film 8/1/2, Guido, a director, asks the beautiful Claudia:
"Could you choose one single thing, and be faithful to it? Could you make it the one thing that gives your life meaning — just because you believe it? Could you do that?"

"Enthusiasm is contagious.
Be a carrier!"
— Susan Rabin in Frederic Brussat's Twitter Feed

"Look at a tin can and think of ten fun things to do with it."
— Mina Parker in Less Is More

"Scour the tub, close the door, phone your mother, dry your socks, comb your hair, mail the letter, buy the groceries, wash your window, fold your pajamas — just do it. Taste each act as spiritual, as mundane, as self-growth, as voluntary, as prescribed. Anyway — just do it. We all add spice to our lives. Your main course is doing. Indeed."
— David K. Reynolds in Light Waves: Fine Turning the Mind

"A good laugh and a long sleep are the two best cures."
— Irish Proverb in Everyday Epiphanies by Melanie Svoboda


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