Tue 10 Jun 2008
I was asked recently if I had a motto. That prompted me to make the following list:
- Qui aime juste s’attire un destin
- I never look at you but there is some new virtue born in me, some new courage
- A comma not an exclamation mark
- Dulcius ex asperis
- Nemo me impune lacessit
It made me think of the Salon. If you were to pick a motto what would it be? Is it more importnat that it capture the essence of your being, or should it be something that you strive to attain?
Discussing this with Natarajan, we came up with a game. For a given motto, what sort of person would have that motto? (’I would buy your book’) Could that be the center of a collaborative short story?
One Response to “Motto”
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June 20th, 2008 at 12:21 am
Wow, I am in awe of the comma-not-an-exclamation-mark comment. How beautifully phrased! (And are we surprised?)
Keddies united? I’m, um, speechless. (Nice recent beach pics, by the way!)
I love the subject of this post. Not only is a personal motto a cute thing to have, like a characteristic signature or quirk, but it can have real power in your life. An oft-repeated phrase or view shapes how you proceed through your life. Coincidentally, a few months ago I attended a motivational talk at work (in a work-life balance series) that emphasized just that: the importance of coming up with a short, powerful statement that encapsulates your goals or your values, something that you can return to as a touchstone and a clarifying force when the world starts to win its war of distraction. Sitting in the audience, my own motto burst into conscious thought: “On to Mars!”