speak, words

i have always loved this quotation, taken somewhat out of context, from jewish theologian martin buber:

good, rich, and simple words should not be wasted. not the word movement either. we should only speak of movement if there is an upward movement of seeds. energies are inhibited, energies want to become free, want to become fertile: that is how they move; that is how they move the world.


it is, in both the particular instance and as a universal perception, how i want to feel about education and human growth. reading bill clinton's commencement speech from harvard's graduation this past weekend left me so moved, quite beside myself (when we say this i suppose we really mean 'my-rational-self'), almost to tears, though i wasn't planning to be so warmly responsive. i hope you'll read it, too.
now, today's toil to be more inspired than usual...

(my reading companion at right)