Quote of the Week: July 16-July 23

What a man does for pay is of little significance. What he is, as a sensitive instrument responsive to the world's beauty, is everything!H P Lovecraft

I like this particular quote from Lovecraft as it describes fairly well my current standpoint in life.

For pay, I work in a restaurant. It's a dead-end job with little reward, and certainly garners no ultimate satisfaction to me.

But my writing? I approach my writing in the sense that I'm interpreting my thoughts and feelings and/or my own experiences in life into another medium. I have never been paid for anything that I've written, although I certainly aspire to. Writing, to me, isn't so much as a hobby so much as it is a star in the far off horizon that I hope to one day be able to navigate to and inhabit. Certainly, I toil ceaselessly, reading countless websites and books and pouring over my own work in an effort to better myself and refine my tactics to a point wherein I feel comfortable enough to present a body of work to someone and hope to get some money for it.

If I never do, I can live with that. But I want to merge the insignificance of money with my passion for being a sensitive instrument responsive to the world's beauty. We are all able to see and experience the world, but those of us who write, who sculpt, who draw, who compose, who paint...we interpret the world around us in ways that is [hopefully] unique to our own vision, and responsive to the range of beauty in the world from birth to death, from salvation to homelessness, from riches to unfathomable poverty, and everything in between. Still, on my hard-drive and in notebooks and binders lie everything about me as a person. My thoughts, my fears, my romantic entanglements, every single imperfection that comprises me as a human being and every single lesson I've learned from them that moves me one step forward toward some intangible goal...these are all the things sprawled out for anyone who cares to read them.

I just hope that one day that happens to be millions of people so I can kick back and be one of the lucky few who's able to do what I absolutely adore doing for a living.

I was just reading over a few quotes by Lovecraft today, and then realized that we haven't had a new quote of the week in a month of Sundays. This particular one struck me, as it unequivocally sums up why it is that I write.

What do you think?

I think it's an interesting quote. As far as my religious beliefs go, it's not just a job that doesn't matter here on Earth...none of it does. None of my problems, worries, stuggles, doubts...none of that matters in the end. So I think that a job is merely something to mantain in order not to starve in the cold, dark world outside of my parent's house in 4 or however many years before I go to college :P

And as far as your writing to make money, I don't see what you're waiting for dude. I've read some deep, thought out and intricate things you've written and I know you're good. We could all use one more amazing writer who takes time and care with his work and stives to make it exactly how he wants it. I see you fitting that description just fine.

And as far as your writing to make money, I don't see what you're waiting for dude. I've read some deep, thought out and intricate things you've written and I know you're good. We could all use one more amazing writer who takes time and care with his work and stives to make it exactly how he wants it. I see you fitting that description just fine. irmeleeman5995

Forgive me while I get sappy, as sensitive instrument responsive to the world's beauty:

Thank you for that, meleeman. I've been having a really rough time with my personal life as of late, and I've been trying to pour myself into my writing lately, with varied success. To hear you say that has really...I don't know. Boosted me for the day. I'll try my best to prove you right. Again, thank you. I'm actually at kind of loss at that.

Okay, I'm done being all sappy now. :P

I agree with meleeman, the amount of thought and effort you put into your writing is immense, ether. It really hit me after I read your poem,"Sorcery and Blasphemy". When I went for that spoiler link, I expected a short paragraph describing the meaning of the poem, or clarifying anything you may have thought was unclear. Instead, there was a massive sprawl of interpretive designs and messages within the poem that you had considered, and tried to implement into it. What surprised me even more was how well your explanation fit with my thoughts as I was reading the poem, although your explanation greatly helped as you had a much greater knowledge of the subject concerned. I've seen many stories and poems that are published en masse that aren't as well thought out or executed as yours; you definitely have the potential to become a writer as a paying profession.

Regarding the quote itself, I think it's quite good. However, I do think what a man does for pay can be significant, even if it is only to himself. If a person's job is something they really enjoy doing, that they feel rewarded for carrying it out, then it can make a significant impact on their lives. And making an impact on someone's life has a domino effect on their relatives, friends, etc.

It's nice to have a new quote. :D I'll see if I can't find one for next time. Maybe something really insightful like "Crop circles are Chuck Norris's way of telling the world that sometimes corn needs to lie down." :lol:

I dunno, I think it comes down to Lovecraft's opinion on whatsomeone should be judged on and then you're still judging the person, just on something you feel is more meaningful.

I probably misunderstood the qoute though. :D

For the recordI don't care what someone does for a living though. :P
Unless they're a polition.... ;)

Regarding the quote, I'd always gone around with the mentality that money didn't mean that much. But, about a month ago, It suddenly struck me that that mindset was obviously incorrect. In today's overly materialistic society, one's worth is measured by the amount of money. Why else would "Forbes" bother to list the worlds richest people every so often? (Incidentally, you need a billion US$ to get in now.) Those ore my thoughts anyway

(In an aside to any officer, can recruits submit quotes as well?)