Quote Of The Day -- 14th July 2008

[ 14 July 2008 ]

Begin. Keep on beginning.
Photo by Tommy Oshima.

Advice to Beginners by Ellen Kort

Begin. Keep on beginning. Nibble on everything.
Take a hike. Teach yourself to whistle. Lie.
The older you get the more they’ll want your stories.
Make them up. Talk to stones. Short-out electric
fences. Swim with the sea turtle into the moon. Learn
how to die. Eat moonshine pie. Drink wild geranium
tea. Run naked in the rain. Everything that happens
will happen and none of us will be safe from it.
Pull up anchors. Sit close to the god of night.
Lie still in a stream and breathe water. Climb to the top
of the highest tree until you come to the branch
where the blue heron sleeps. Eat poems for breakfast.
Wear them on your forehead. Lick the mountain’s
bare shoulder. Measure the color of days
around your mother’s death. Put your hands
over your face and listen to what they tell you.


Love letters & feather headdresses,

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Comment

  1. That, is one of the most amazing things I have ever read.
    Beautiful, really.

    Coincidently, having just gone through a rough patch (think speed humps the size of a double story house), my boyfriend and I are beginning again. What a perfect thing to read at this particular time!

    Thankyou Gala! xx

    <3 Clare · Jul 14, 08:34 AM · #

  2. This… this entire… post.

    I think.

    Has just made me explode with a random burst of happiness, I feel like sewing or something.

    <3 Michelle · Jul 14, 09:04 AM · #

  3. Nice way to start the day.

    <3 Wednesday's Child · Jul 14, 09:06 AM · #

  4. I second what they said, gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous.

    <3 Sara · Jul 14, 09:07 AM · #

  5. I needed this today.

    <3 Fallon Hester · Jul 14, 09:22 AM · #

  6. Ellen Kort lives in my town…she’s super nice!

    <3 BB · Jul 14, 09:31 AM · #

  7. Perfect breakfast poem Gala! How yummy and thank you!

    <3 ss · Jul 14, 09:37 AM · #

  8. What a wonderful mix of hopeful and mournful imagery. Ms. Kort does a great job of making sure her readers know that “beginners” don’t have to be young. Thanks for posting this lovely leetle pome.

    <3 Sal · Jul 14, 09:39 AM · #

  9. A perfect way to begin a new week. Am completely inspired to eat poems for breakfast every morning!

    <3 this is glamorous · Jul 14, 09:54 AM · #

  10. beautiful.

    (:

    <3 chiara louise · Jul 14, 09:55 AM · #

  11. Oh, I LOVE that. So so much. I’m going to print it off and stick it on my wall.

    <3 Annie K · Jul 14, 10:26 AM · #

  12. Beautiful. I was lacking inspiration and being incredibly lazy, but this just gave me a power boost.
    I need to be productive!
    Thanks Gala

    <3 Carolina -Raiment Urbane · Jul 14, 10:30 AM · #

  13. This is now in my journal. This is fantastic!

    <3 Ashley · Jul 14, 10:38 AM · #

  14. What beautiful, powerful words. As others have said, I have an urge to go and do something creative. As soon as my Moleskine arrives in the post (!!) I’m going to write this quote on the front page, and decorate it, make it beautiful.
    I must say, your posts lately have been particularly inspiring, I’m now even more determined to turn my life around :)

    xx

    P.S: Today I was feeling really down about my whole being true to myself resolution I have right now, it just seemed too hard, but I just smiled and thought of you in NY and that gave me inspiration to keep trying. Ta Gala hun!

    <3 Kati · Jul 14, 10:42 AM · #

  15. I love that your blog embraces people’s flaws and encourages our weirdness.

    <3 miss morgan · Jul 14, 10:45 AM · #

  16. Mmm… That was so lovely I want to eat it.

    <3 Anna · Jul 14, 12:24 PM · #

  17. Your top three posts are just BEYOND. WORDS.

    <3 Rachel · Jul 14, 01:34 PM · #

  18. Ohhh lovely.

    <3 Nadine · Jul 14, 02:42 PM · #

  19. That is such a beautiful poem.

    <3 Sheema · Jul 14, 03:37 PM · #

  20. Wow.
    I just sat there and cried.
    How I missed that all the time and didn´t notice.

    <3 flowernelly · Jul 14, 04:52 PM · #

  21. “Talk to stones” – I can do that on my next walk with my dog.

    “Run naked in the rain” – Monsoon season is here in AZ so now is a great time to do it, and boy, that sounds fun!!!!!

    <3 Kristen's Raw · Jul 14, 05:09 PM · #

  22. Half of the sentences made me feel uneasy… Lie? Make up stories? Breathe water? But I do like the mash of poetic words.

    <3 Ivy · Jul 14, 05:22 PM · #

  23. I love this!!

    <3 Samantha · Jul 14, 05:48 PM · #

  24. How whimsical and lovely!

    <3 Annie Spandex · Jul 14, 06:53 PM · #

  25. I love this incredibly much. My favorite English teacher of all time actually gave it to my entire senior class on a bookmark at graduation!!

    <3 Marie · Jul 14, 06:57 PM · #

  26. simplistically beautiful with every word

    <3 Valentina · Jul 14, 07:58 PM · #

  27. Gorgeous. Where did you find this piece of lovely?

    <3 amber catch · Jul 14, 08:46 PM · #

  28. I love this….but can someone help me decifer “Measure the color of days around your Mothers death.” I don’t get it…but I want to.

    <3 Kelly · Jul 14, 09:21 PM · #

  29. Where on earth do you discover such beautiful writings!? I love it. It’s so totally something I’d stick up on my inspiration board!

    <3 Kerry · Jul 14, 10:52 PM · #

  30. it’s very similar to your vein of writing Gala :)

    <3 lulubrownskin · Jul 15, 02:30 AM · #

  31. Beautiful

    I want to make it into a painting

    <3 Chloe · Jul 15, 03:03 AM · #

  32. oh wow.

    there’s a sense of stillness.

    <3 Leanne · Jul 15, 03:42 AM · #

  33. oh, oh. i love this. so much. it’s so up my alley i don’t know what to do right now.
    it will probably go on my blog.

    i feel like i should tatoo it on my body.

    thanks, gala.

    (i’m going to send you some beautiful mary oliver poems)

    <3 joann · Jul 15, 07:55 PM · #

  34. Oh my life! I thought I didn’t like poetry but I am now a believer! Wow.

    <3 Sheena · Jul 16, 01:19 PM · #

  35. Love love love this post.

    <3 Mandy W · Jul 16, 08:17 PM · #

  36. I adore this so much, I have it writen in my sketch book.

    <3 Storme · Aug 15, 07:18 PM · #

  37. Great inspiration for everyday!

    <3 marilyn · Aug 19, 09:02 AM · #