The Quote File: Change

It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change. — Charles Darwin

Fortune does not change men, it unmasks them. — Suzanne Necker

Some people change when they see the light, others when they feel the heat. — Caroline Schoeder

In times of change, learners inherit the Earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists. — Eric Hoffer

The only person who is educated is the one who has learned how to learn and change. — Carl Rogers

We now accept the fact that learning is a lifelong process of keeping abreast of change. And the most pressing task is to teach people how to learn. — Peter Drucker

We have a powerful potential in our youth, and we must have the courage to change old ideas and practices so that we may direct their power toward good ends. — Mary McLeod Bethune

Teaching is more than imparting knowledge, it is inspiring change. Learning is more than absorbing facts, it is acquiring understanding. — William Arthur Ward (again)

Here's to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes... the ones who see things differently -- they're not fond of rules.... You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can't do is ignore them because they change things... they push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do. — Steve Jobs

I am personally convinced that one person can be a change catalyst, a "transformer" in any situation, any organization. Such an individual is yeast that can leaven an entire loaf. It requires vision, initiative, patience, respect, persistence, courage, and faith to be a transforming leader. — Stephen R. Covey

Moral courage is a rarer commodity than bravery in battle or great intelligence. Yet it is the one essential, vital quality of those who seek to change a world which yields most painfully to change. — Robert F. Kennedy

As nightfall does not come at once, neither does oppression. In both instances there is a twilight when everything remains seemingly unchanged. And it is in such twilight that we all must be most aware of change in the air — however slight — lest we become unwitting victims of the darkness. — William O. Douglas

You may not be able to change the world, but at least you can embarrass the guilty. — Jessica Mitford

For me, words are a form of action, capable of influencing change. — Ingrid Bengis
 
The world is never the same once a good poem has been added to it. A good poem helps to change the shape of the universe, helps to extend everyone's knowledge of himself and the world around him. — Dylan Thomas

I can't think of a case where poems changed the world, but what they do is they change people's understanding of what's going on in the world. — Seamus Heaney

We pass the word around; we ponder how the case is put by different people, we read the poetry; we meditate over the literature; we play the music; we change our minds; we reach an understanding. — Lewis Thomas

Books are the dreams we would most like to have, and, like dreams, they have the power to change consciousness, turning sadness to laughter and anxious introspection to the relaxed contemplation of some other time and place. — Victor Null

No passion in the world is equal to the passion to alter someone else's draft. — H. G. Wells

You wait for fate to bring about the changes in life which you should be bringing about yourself. — Douglas Coupland

To change your life, start immediately. Do it flamboyantly. No exceptions! — James Joyce

Our heads are round so that thoughts can change direction. — Francis Picabia

Like all weak men he laid an exaggerated stress on not changing one's mind. — William Somerset Maugham

Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or the present are certain to miss the future. — John F. Kennedy

The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails. — William Arthur Ward (again)

It makes me unhappy when certain things change or things are superseded… my nine-year-old daughter's personality... Card catalogues... Jiffy Pop right now feels imperiled... I want to stop time and get things down on paper before they've flown off like a flock of starlings. — Nicholson Baker

There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered. — Nelson Mandela

Truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it. — Flannery O'Connor

We are not the same persons this year as last; nor are those we love. It is a happy chance if we, changing, continue to love a changed person. — William Somerset Maugham (also again)

The simplest questions are the most profound. Where were you born? Where is your home? Where are you going? What are you doing? Think about these once in a while and watch your answers change. — Richard Bach

I get up every morning determined both to change the world and to have one hell of a good time. Sometimes this makes planning the day difficult. — E. B. White

Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. To keep our faces toward change and behave like free spirits in the presence of fate is strength undefeatable. — Helen Keller

A Walk Up Crosby Street

When it comes to subways in New York, I've always been an orange line commuter: the F for the eight years I lived in Park Slope, and the B for the last 2.75 years in Prospect Heights. But this summer, I've discovered the pleasures of the big yellow Q train from Brooklyn to Manhattan. First I get to cross the Manhattan Bridge on the southern tracks, allowing a much better view of the Brooklyn Bridge:


(image stolen from this nice blog here, as I failed to take such a picture this morning)

And then, after I get off at Canal Street, the first stop in Manhattan, I get to walk up Crosby Street, one block over from Broadway, and I never fail to see something interesting. For instance:

The window of De Vera Objects at 1 Crosby, featuring a small statue wearing a gorgeous dress made out of paper:


Across the street, above Jil Sander, some watchful mannequins:


A glimpse into the garden and windows of Imperial Number Nine.

Just outside the Vespa shop at 13 Crosby, provoking dreams of Roman Holidays:


The Saturdays NYC Surf Shop and Espresso Bar (not kidding) at number 31:

A view of the brick street itself, many times patched, which makes me think about all the years and vehicles and changes those bricks have seen:


At the corner of Broome and Crosby, the multilevel parking platforms that I never fail to find fascinating, especially if I’m lucky enough to be there when they’re taking a car down; not to mention a very New York skyscraper, billboard, and water tower:


Some wonderful artistic graffiti by New Yorkers who walk at night:


The window at All Saints, a UK clothing chain at 512 Broadway, filled with Singer sewing machines:


In the lobby of the very posh Crosby Street Hotel, a giant head made of joined letters (which is what my head feels like some days). They do a glorious afternoon tea here, though I find it a little too posh and formal to be cozy.

And then I turn left at the corner of Prince St. and walk over to Broadway and go to work, inspired by the diversity and energy of the city and all its beautiful things.