“But on the other hand, I don't actively seek out stories or hunt them ...” — Russell Banks Quote

“But on the other hand, I don't actively seek out stories or hunt them down.”

“Every morning, before beginning our day's labor, we gathered together in the parlor for prayers and Father's brief sermon, and even though I had grown long used to these solemn services, they nevertheless uplifted me, as I believe they did the others, and made the day's work easier, for despite my unbelief, the services connected our labor to something larger than ourselves and our petty daily needs. Father's intention, I am sure, was precisely that–to lead us to understand our woodcutting and plowing and constant care of animals, the day-long manufacture of our meals and the permanent ongoing repair of our tools and equipment, and our endless preparation for the long winter, such that we would believe that we were participating in a great cycle of life, as if we were tiny arcs of an enormous curve, a universal template that began with birth and ended with death and which, if participated in fully and without shirking, would lead us to a second and still larger cycle of rebirth and regeneration, to an infinite spiral, as it were. Thus, as the fields were prepared and sown, so too were our inner lives being prepared and sown, and as our land and our livestock grew fruitful and multiplied, so did our spirits blossom and bear fruit, and as we dried and salted and stored our food and supplies in sawdust and hay for winter, so would our spirits and minds be prepared to endure the inescapable suffering and deaths of our loved ones, which would come to us as inevitably as the freezing winds and the deep, drifting snows of winter.”

“Although I still occasionally paint and draw, my life has now been shaped by my writing.”

“Our Keystone legislation received strong bipartisan support in the Senate. Although it didn't receive the 60 votes necessary for passage, 56 senators - a majority - voted in favor of the bill. Despite President Obama's actively lobbying against the bill, we still won the support of 11 Democrats.”

“I don't know that a lot of boys read 'Rookie', but we get quite a few nice comments and e-mails from them. To say I'm devoted to making it girls-only is a little extreme, because I don't actively try to exclude everyone else, just make sure girls know that this space is for them first and foremost.”

“If there's a pregnancy rumor, people will find out it's not true when you wind up not being pregnant, like nine months from now, and if there's a house rumor, they'll find out it's not true when you are actively not ever spotted at that house.”

“Combining a massive weight cut with actively getting over a concussion, that's not good.”

“Before finding a mentor, I feel it's essential to really find your own calling and passion. From my experience, this will become a guiding bond in this kind of relationship. Be curious and engaged - and push yourself actively. Be as good as you can at what you love to do, and you will certainly get a mentor's attention.”