3 Writers Who Inspire Me

As I think about writers who inspire me, three come to mind:

=> Henry David Thoreau - was an American author, philosopher, poet, naturalist, abolitionist, development critic, historian, surveyor, and leading transcendentalist. He is best known for his book Walden in which he reflects upon simple living in natural surroundings.

An early-morning walk is a blessing for the whole day.

~ Henry David Thoreau ~

Sophia, Olivia, and Gretel on a walk

at William O'Brien State Park.

(Taken on June 1, 2008.)

According to Wikipedia, "Among his lasting contributions were his writings on natural history and philosophy, where he anticipated the methods and findings of ecology and environmental history, two sources of modern day environmentalism."

As a single footstep will not make a path on the earth, 

so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind. 

To make a deep physical path, we walk again and again. 

To make a deep mental path, 

we must think over and over 

the kind of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives.

~ Henry David Thoreau ~

Purple log pathway at 

Franconia Sculpture Park.

(Taken on May 20, 2010.)

I read Walden more than once, and continue to learn and reflect upon something new in it each time I read the book.

=> Elie Wiesel - is a Romanian-born Jewish-American professor, writer, Nobel Laureate, political activist, and Holocaust survivor. He is the author of 57 books, including Night, a work based on his experiences as a prisoner in the Auschwitz, Buna, and Buchenwald concentration camps.

I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever 

human beings endure suffering and humiliation. 

We must always take sides. 

Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. 

Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.

~ Elie Wiesel ~

According to Wikipedia, "When Wiesel was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986, the Norwegian Nobel Committee called him a 'messenger to mankind,' stating that through his struggle to come to terms with 'his own personal experience of total humiliation and of the utter contempt for humanity shown in Hitler's death camps,' as well as his 'practical work in the cause of peace,' Wiesel had delivered a powerful message 'of peace, atonement and human dignity' to humanity."

Peace is our gift to each other.

~ Elie Wiesel ~

Peace cranes decorating branches.

(Taken on June 12, 2011.)

Night is a memorable book that I read many years ago. It truly gives a very human perspective about the effect that the concentration camps had on the people who were there...especially those who survived that experience. The book is a powerful one about grieving and healing.

=> Julia Cameron - is an American teacher, author, artist, poet, playwright, novelist, filmmaker, composer, and journalist. She is perhaps most famous for her book The Artist's Way. She also has written many other non-fiction works, short stories, and essays, as well as novels, plays, musicals, and screenplays.

The creative process is a process of surrender, not control.

~ Julia Cameron ~

Sophia doing wet-on-wet watercolor.

She was 6 years old in this picture.

(Taken on November 4, 2007.)

I read The Artist's Way in 2003 and did the morning pages as the author suggested. It was a meaningful and life-changing experience to do that; and it is something that I would like to do again.

What we really want to do is what we are really meant to do. 

When we do what we are meant to do, 

money comes to us, 

doors open for us, 

we feel useful, and 

the work we do feels like play to us.

~ Julia Cameron ~

Olivia standing next to the pillow she designed and

hand-embroidered. She won a grand champion award

at the county fair.

(Taken on July 29, 2009 when she was 6 years old.)

These writers are only three of the ones who have inspired me; helped me think about broad issues that impact the environment and people; and changed the way that I live.