"All art is holy. Not that it is all long-faced and miserable; it can be wild and wooly. But if it transforms you, it is art. And it is holy."

“The pursuit of mastery is an ever-onward almost,”

Source : Sarah Lewis (2014). “The Rise: Creativity, the Gift of Failure, and the Search for Mastery”, p.20, Simon and Schuster

“When lions paint pictures men will not always be represented as conquerors. When women translate laws, constitutions, bibles and philosophies, man will not always be the declared heard of the church, the state, and the home.”

“In the past, missionaries have traveled to far countries with the message of the gospel - with great hardship and often with the loss of life. In contrast, we can reach millions instantly from the comfort of our homes by merely hitting the 'send' button on our computers, or with iPads, or phones.”

“I have wanted to kill myself a hundred times, but somehow I am still in love with life. This ridiculous weakness is perhaps one of our more stupid melancholy propensities, for is there anything more stupid than to be eager to go on carrying a burden which one would gladly throw away, to loathe one’s very being and yet to hold it fast, to fondle the snake that devours us until it has eaten our hearts away?”

“Well, to aspiring writers, I would tell them that we live in a wonderful time where you're able to make your work visible, easily.”

“A schedule defends from chaos and whim. It is a net for catching days. It is a scaffolding on which a worker can stand and labor with both hands at sections of time.”

“It’s not Brittney’s face, not her smile, not even her eyes. All of that surface stuff made the world see her as beautiful, but it was the deeper stuff that made her different.”

“When I was in my early teens, I joined a cult. And we weren't allowed to listen to secular music or anything that wasn't made by us. So I spent a lot of time not listening to music, and by the time I could, I just didn't get into it.”

Source : "A Moment With Natalia Kills". Interview with Romy Oltuski, www.harpersbazaar.com. February 28, 2014.