The modern hero, the modern individual who dares to heed the call and seek the mansion of that presence with whom it is our whole destiny to be atoned, cannot, indeed must not, wait for his community to cast off its slough of pride, fear, rationalized avarice, and sanctified misunderstanding…It is not society that is to guide and save the creative hero, but precisely the reverse. And so every one of us shares the supreme ordeal—carries the cross of the redeemer—not in the bright moments of his tribe’s great victories, but in the silences of his personal despair.
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Joseph Campbell,The Hero With A Thousand Faces (pg. 337)
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Mine honor is my life, both grow in one. Take honor from me, and my life is done. Then, dear my liege, mine honor let me try; In that I live, and for that I will die.
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William Shakespeare, Richard II (1595) (1.1.182-185)
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Listen to the mustn’ts, child.
Listen to the don’ts.
Listen to the shouldn’ts, the impossibles, the won’ts.
Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me…
Anything can happen, child.
Anything can be.
Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one’s definition of your life; define yourself.
You’re going to come across people in your life who will say all the right words at all the right times. But in the end, it’s always their actions you should judge them by. It’s actions, not words, that matter.
You know you’ve read a good book when you turn the last page and feel a little as if you have lost a friend.
A question for all my Twitter & Tumblr friends in the NYC area:
When I come up to the city for my teaching interview & new schools networking event, I’ll be relying primarily on the subway to get around. I’ll need to make at least one round trip each between Penn Station and:
1. My hostel on the Upper West Side, near W 104th street
2. The school where my interview is, in the Forest Hills section of Queens
3. The Museum of Jewish Heritage, at Battery Place in lower Manhattan
How much would you say I should put on a Metro card when I get into the city, to make sure I have enough? Thanks for the info! :-)
