NITCH

Photo of Albert Einstein

Albert Einstein // "A human being is a part of the whole, called by us 'Universe'... He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest — a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature... Nobody is able to achieve this completely, but striving for such achievement is, in itself, a part of the liberation and a foundation for inner security."

Photo of Jack Kerouac

Jack Kerouac // "Happiness consists in realizing it is all a great strange dream."

Photo of Joan Didion

Joan Didion // "I’m very attached to certain forms, little compulsive rituals. I like to cook; I like to sew. They’re peaceful things, and they’re an expression of caring."

Photo of Heath Ledger

Heath Ledger // "Honesty always gets my attention. Not particularly someone who is honest to me, but someone who is honest with themselves."

Photo of Shel Silverstein

Shel Silverstein // "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."

Photo of Ernest Hemingway

Ernest Hemingway // "I’m tired of everybody. Please forgive me."

Photo of James Baldwin

James Baldwin // "The world changes according to the way people see it, and if you alter, even by a millimeter, the way people look at reality, then you can change it."

Photo of Tennessee Williams

Tennessee Williams // "I am sitting at my kitchen table waiting for my lover to arrive with lettuce and tomatoes and rum and sherry wine and a big floury loaf of bread in the fading sunlight. Coffee is percolating gently, and my mood is mellow. I have been very happy lately, just wallowing in it selfishly, knowing it will not last very long, which is all the more reason to enjoy it now."

Photo of James Joyce

James Joyce // "Absence, the highest form of presence."

Photo of Hayao Miyazaki

Hayao Miyazaki // "In my grandparents’ time, it was believed that spirits existed everywhere...in trees, rivers, insects, wells, anything... I like the idea that we should all treasure everything because spirits might exist there, and we should treasure everything because there is a kind of life to everything."

Photo of Colette

Colette // "You will do foolish things, but do them with enthusiasm."

Photo of Sylvia Plath

Sylvia Plath // "I may never be happy, but tonight I am content. Nothing more than an empty house, the warm hazy weariness from a day spent setting strawberry runners in the sun, a glass of cool sweet milk, and a shallow dish of blueberries bathed in cream. When one is so tired at the end of a day one must sleep, and at the next dawn there are more strawberry runners to set, and so one goes on living, near the earth. At times like this I’d call myself a fool to ask for more."