Grandfather's been dead all these years, but if you lifted my skull, by God, in the convolutions of my brain you'd find the big ridges of his thumbprint. He touched me. As I said earlier, he was a sculptor. 'I hate a Roman named Status Quo!' he said to me. 'Stuff your eyes with wonder,' he said, 'live as if you'd drop dead in ten seconds. See the world. It's more fantastic than any dream made or paid for in factories.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the lasting impact of experiences and the importance of living life fully and embracing wonder.
Ray Bradbury's quote reflects on the profound influence of his grandfather, illustrating how the impressions and teachings of loved ones remain etched in our minds. The exhortation to 'see the world' and 'live as if you'd drop dead in ten seconds' underscores a philosophy of adventure, appreciation for life’s beauty, and a rejection of stagnation and complacency. By encouraging us to fill our lives with wonder and exploration, Bradbury advocates for an engaged and enthusiastic approach to existence, highlighting that true richness can be found in observation and experience rather than material possessions.
In practice
During a motivational speech on life experiences.
I've written about 2,000 short stories; I've only published 300 and I feel I'm still learning. Any man who keeps working is not a failure. He may not be a great writer, but if he applies the old fashioned virtues of hard, constant labor, he'll eventually make some kind of career for himself as a writer. Ray Bradbury, 1967 interview (Doing the Math - that means for every story he sold, he wrote six "un-publishable" ones. Keep typing!)
I never went to college, so I went to the library.
There must be something in books, something we can’t imagine, to make a woman stay in a burning house; there must be something there. You don’t stay for nothing.
I think the sun is a flower, That blooms for just one hour.
The first thing a writer should be is - excited. He should be a thing of fevers and enthusiasms. Without such vigor, he might as well be out picking peaches or digging ditches; God knows it'd be better for his health.
You can't try to do things; you simply must do them.
If you are careful,' Garp wrote, 'if you use good ingredients, and you don't take any shortcuts, then you can usually cook something very good. Sometimes it is the only worthwhile product you can salvage from a day; what you make to eat. With writing, I find, you can have all the right ingredients, give plenty of time and care, and still get nothing. Also true of love. Cooking, therefore, can keep a person who tries hard sane.
What a sense of security in an old book which Time has criticized for us!
Ships at a distance have every man's wish on board.
If there were no night, we would not appreciate the day, nor could we see the stars and the vastness of the heavens. We must partake of the bitter with the sweet. There is a divine purpose in the adversities we encounter every day. They prepare, they purge, they purify, and thus they bless.
If you cast away one cross, you will certainly find another, and perhaps a heavier.
Sometimes it is harder to deprive oneself of a pain than of a pleasure.
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