To his dog, every man is Napoleon; hence the constant popularity of dogs.
Aldous HuxleyRead
And so, resisting the temptation to wallow in artistic remorse, I prefer to leave both well and ill alone and to think about something else
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the importance of not dwelling on past artistic failures or regrets; instead, it encourages focusing on new ideas and creations.
Aldous Huxley's quote suggests that artists should avoid the trap of regret and self-pity regarding their work. Instead of being consumed by the desire to revisit and judge past creations—whether successful or not—it's more fruitful to shift their attention towards new possibilities and ideas, allowing for ongoing innovation and creativity.
In practice
In an art therapy session, I encouraged participants to embrace this quote as they reflected on their past works.
To his dog, every man is Napoleon; hence the constant popularity of dogs.
Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.
In the course of history many more people have died for their drink and their dope than have died for their religion or their country.
On no account brood over your wrongdoing. Rolling in the muck is not the best way of getting clean.
No man ever dared to manifest his boredom so insolently as does a Siamese tomcat when he yawns in the face of his amorously importunate wife.
The leech's kiss, the squid's embrace, The prurient ape's defiling touch: And do you like the human race? No, not much.
All those young photographers who are at work in the world, determined upon the capture of actuality, do not know that they are agents of Death.
Writing is an act of empathy. You are occupying and understanding a point of view that might be alien to your own--and work is often the keyhole through which you peer.
I hope there is something worthy in my writings and not merely the novelty of a black face associated with the power to rhyme that has attracted attention.
The authour who imitates his predecessors only by furnishing himself with thoughts and elegances out of the same general magazine of literature, can with little more propriety be reproached as a plagiary, than the architect can be censured as a mean copier of Angelo or Wren, because he digs his marble out of the same quarry, squares his stones by the same art, and unites them in columns of the same orders.
All I know is when I start getting serious about songwriting... it's like a playground. All responsibilities slip away and you're with your essence. There can be delight there and self-discovery. You can dance there... I think of it as my serious playground.
In film, you have to let go sometimes.
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