Alan Lightman Quotes

Part of me longs to do a job where there's not a gray area.

No one welcomes chaos, but why crave stability and predictability?

There is a comfort in rituals, and rituals provide a framework for stability when you are trying to find answers.

I like predictability because I know what I'm getting into.

Of all the things a body loves, predictability is one of them.

The great advantage of being in a rut is that when one is in a rut, one knows exactly where one is.

I sometimes think I might be autistic because I like to know - I need to know - my beginnings and my ends. I don't have to be in control of it, but I need to know what's going on.

I like having a routine, because everything else... is so unpredictable.

I began to realize how simple life could be if one had a regular routine to follow with fixed hours, a fixed salary, and very little original thinking to do.

It's all about consistency, and what makes a child or a dog secure: order, clarity - all those things.

The stage is a routine. It keeps you grounded, like a metronome. I find that soothing.

I guess I crave stability.

We're all seeking order. We're all seeking control.

I always liked situations where there were very clear rules of what to do.

I like stability.

But one of the satisfying things about performing a play is you know for that piece of time exactly what you're going to be doing. Your life has a physical pattern. There's something about the odd, repetitious nature of it that I find hugely relaxing. All the problems of life are taken care of for that bit of time.

I've always been kind of a play-by-the-rules girl; I tend to like things structured, predictable, and sometimes even a little boring.

there must be a routine to life, a framework to hang life on. Routines were what kept you sane, gave you something to do at this moment and at that, definite places to go, positive things to do. Abandon it and that way madness lies.

A child wants some kind of undisrupted routine or rhythm. He seems to want a predictable, orderly world.

What I love about cooking is that after a hard day, there is something comforting about the fact that if you melt butter and add flour and then hot stock, it will get thick! It's a sure thing! It's a sure thing in a world where nothing is sure; it has a mathematical certainty in a world where those of us who long for some kind of certainty are forced to settle for crossword puzzles.

I was feeling safe. Not the kind of safe where you know there are still bad things howling outside the door waiting to get in. No, it was the kind of safe where you sink down in your bed at the end of the day and know you can go to sleep and everything is going to be the same tomorrow.

"Once there, always there", would give you less freedom than you recently enjoyed, but more security. Security not in the sense of safety from terrorists, burglars, or pickpockets... but security in the sense of knowing where you are, who you are, on what kind of future you can count, what will happen, whether you will preserve your position in society or whether you will be degraded and humiliated - this sort of security. This sort of security for many, many people - a rising number of people - looks at the moment more attractive than more freedom.

I'm someone who likes routine.

I try to just focus in on being in the same routine every single day.

I'm a simple man; I like to stick to what I know.