Olivia Dias Bagott

Rachel Carson: “Those who contemplate the beauty of the Earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts.”

Joy is not a function of a life free of friction and frustration, but a function of focus – an inner elevation by the fulcrum of choice.

“Instantaneous access to everything obviously comes at a cost. The cost being that we all behave like demented Roman emperors, at once bored and deranged, summoning whatever we want at any time.”

We have become archivists of the self, I thought, curators of a life half-lived. Each countless photograph of a wonder, of dinner, of a view, of our children, of the utter banality of our everyday lives, was not a memento, a way of remembering the things we did, but instead evidence of the poverty of our engagement with the present moment. We frame... See more

Cynicism is a lack of faith in people; skepticism is a lack of faith in our assumptions. Cynics imagine humanity is awful; skeptics gather information about who they can trust. They hold on to beliefs lightly and learn quickly.

I want to know and be able to explain my personal taste, not just accept one that’s been spoonfed to me because of a pay-for-play scheme at Spotify, for instance. I don’t want my behavior modified by a social media empire; I want to make all my own mistakes.