Jane Hirshfield Quotes

I'm a great believer in the beauty and the power of surprise.

Life is the wonder with which we are all infused.

I can't bear living in this huge beautiful world and not try to imitate it as best I can.

People never cease to amaze me.

Wonder and awe are the diet of the artist and without them the world would be far less meaningful to us than it is.

The sky is love's muse.

I want to be constantly in awe of the possibilities of the universe.

All we behold is miracle.

The individual human is still the creature who can wonder, who can be enchanted by a sonata, who can place symbols together to make poetry to gladden our heart, who can view a sunrise with a sense of majesty and awe.

Before there can be wonders, there must be wonder.

Good science and good art are always about a condition of awe. I don't think there is any other function for the poet or the scientist in the human tribe but the astonishment of the soul.

He says one word, nodding into the daylight. "Look." It's an astounding word. It's a gift.

Wonder is like grace, in that it's not a condition we grasp; it grasps us. Wonder is not an obligatory element in the search for truth. We can seek truth without wonder's assistance. But seek is all we'll do; there will be no finding. Unless wonder descends, unlocks us ... truth is unable to enter. Wonder may be the aura of truth, the halo of it. Or something even closer. Wonder may be the caress of truth, touching our very skin.

Magic is not about having a puzzle to solve. It's about creating a moment of awe and astonishment. And that can be a beautiful thing.

Stuff your eyes with wonder.

It was really a magical moment, to see this idea that's in your head.

Amazement awaits us at every corner.

There is inspiration all around us.

I thank you God for this most amazing day, for the leaping greenly spirits of trees, and for the blue dream of sky and for everything which is natural, which is infinite, which is yes.

The world is full of poetry. The air is living with its spirit; and the waves dance to the music of its melodies, and sparkle in its brightness.

I think the foundation of everything in my life is wonder.

I know no subject more elevating, more amazing, more ready to the poetical enthusiasm, the philosophical reflection, and the moral sentiment than the works of nature. Where can we meet such variety, such beauty, such magnificence?

Our time here is magic! It's the only space you have to realize whatever it is that is beautiful, whatever is true, whatever is great, whatever is potential, whatever is rare, whatever is unique, in. It's the only space.

Life never becomes a habit to me. It's always a marvel.

So much inspires me. People living their lives with courage, beauty of all kinds, nature in all its aspects, people I love and people I hardly know, and, of course, other poets.