Martha Beck Quotes
As I obsess about my ancient problems, I feel more like I'm sinking in quicksand than lighting a torch. I'm creating neither heat nor light, just the icky, perversely pleasurable squish of self-pity between my toes. My only defense is that I'm not the only one down here in the muck - our whole culture is doting on tales of personal tragedy.

Quotes to Explore
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It lies in human nature that where you experience your first laughs, you also remember the age kindly.
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Be a good-looking corpse. Leave a good-looking tattoo.
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Knitting not only relaxes me, it also brings a feeling of being at home.
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I believe that stories find writers, writers don't find stories. With the 'Pendragon' series, I actually had multiple story ideas and decided that instead of writing them individually, I would create a character whose journey would thread them all together.
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There is no one looking out for us. We are all alone.
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I'm continuing to learn more about music - it's an ocean, and you can never really say that you know everything. I'm grateful that I'm still living and making music among the greats.
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I think there is no reason for us to bring to Islamism or political Islam the fear and ignorance of Western commentators and their hysterical vocabulary.
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Imagination grows by exercise, and contrary to common belief, is more powerful in the mature than in the young.
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Throughout history, it has been the inaction of those who could have acted; the indifference of those who should have known better; the silence of the voice of justice when it mattered most; that has made it possible for evil to triumph.
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If you don't learn to laugh at troubles, you won't have anything to laugh at when you grow old.
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Because of my own family's service (in the U.S. Army, Navy, and Massachusetts and New York National Guard), I am a strong supporter of the military and do believe that there are just wars.
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I live in New York. I don't really particularly want to move to LA.
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Man is a beautiful machine that works very badly.
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I'm nearsighted in my right eye, have glaucoma in my left, and the nerves in my hands are on Medicare. Basically, I'm on the wrong end of a short sale.
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Religion is the recognition of all our duties as divine commands.
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I'm stronger and sassier as a redhead.
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Creme Brulee is the ultimate 'guy' dessert. Make it and he'll follow you anywhere.
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There have been moments in my career when I've had to be tough and I've had to step up to the plate - but usually that's because a man has underestimated me. But other than that, I wouldn't say I'm a tough person.
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Books are men of higher stature; the only men that speak aloud for future times to hear.
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Ah, my dad's whistle. On holidays when I was a kid, we would all be off in the rock pools along the beach. When it came time to go, we'd hear the whistle and we'd all come running. Like dogs!
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It's a humorous statement that doesn't mean anything. You can't lie to God - it's ridiculous.
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Behavior used to be reinforced by great deprivation; if people weren't hungry, they wouldn't work. Now we are committed to feeding people whether they work or not. Nor is money as great a reinforcer as it once was. People no longer work for punitive reasons, yet our culture offers no new satisfactions.
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Despite the best intentions, companies often become culturally dysfunctional. This occurs when leadership has a perception about the culture that conflicts with reality, or leadership behaves differently than what might be written down.
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As I obsess about my ancient problems, I feel more like I'm sinking in quicksand than lighting a torch. I'm creating neither heat nor light, just the icky, perversely pleasurable squish of self-pity between my toes. My only defense is that I'm not the only one down here in the muck - our whole culture is doting on tales of personal tragedy.