absence

anger

excellence

flower

garden

gardening

house

loneliness

loss

old age

possession

self-respect

solitude

occupation / innovator as

poet

nationality

Belgian

diarist

American

scientific organization

American Academy of Arts and Sciences

religion

Unitarian Universalism

cause of death

natural causes

is not a safety valve against madness or illness... rather, properly channeled, it creates the good tension for work.

I have sometimes wondered also whether in people like me who come to the boil fast (soupe au lait, the French call this trait, like a milk soup that boils over) the tantrum is not a built-in safety valve against madness or illness. . . . The fierce tension in me, when it is properly channeled, creates the good tension for work. But when it becomes unbalanced I am destructive. How to isolate that good tension is my problem these days. Or, put in another way, how to turn the heat down fast enough so the soup won't boil over!May Sarton

*Proverbs are always platitudes until you have personally experienced the truth of them.

is a silent presence that nourishes every sense except the ear.

*Neurosis has an absolute genius for malingering. There is no illness which it cannot counterfeit perfectly.

 holds the whole mystery in its short cycle, and in the garden we are never far away from death, the fertilizing, good, creative death.

*A neurosis is a secret you don't know you're keeping.

is like life itself, a series of losses set against a few triumphs.

A garden is always a series of losses set against a few triumphs, like life itself.

is an instrument of grace which slows us down and forces patience and sets us back into the slow circles of nature.

Everything that slows us down and forces patience, everything that sets us back into the slow circles of nature, is a help. Gardening is an instrument of grace. May Sarton

is soulless that does not have one worn, comfy chair in it.

A house that does not have one worn, comfy chair in it is soulless.

is contrasted with solitude in that loneliness is the poverty of self while solitude is richness of self.

Loneliness is the poverty of self... solitude is richness of self.

is, in fact, the only way to retain a thing. We only keep what we lose.

is a timeless ascent. As power diminishes, we grow towards the light.

is paradoxical. In truth, we only keep what we lose.

Self-respect is nothing to hide behind. When you need it most it isn't there. May Sarton

Solitude swells the inner space like a balloon

is the salt of personhood, bringing out the authentic flavor of every experience.

Solitude is the salt of personhood. It brings out the authentic flavor of every experience.

is contrasted with loneliness in that loneliness is the poverty of self while solitude is richness of self.

May SartonThinkers

May Sarton