April 10, 2009 journal page

I have been reading Akira Kurosawa's Something Like an Autobiography the last few nights.
I've been trying to slowly savor it and not devour it like I do most books. I picked it up at the used bookstore the other day and showed David. His response was that he loved it and read it many years ago and that I would like it, too. So, it came home with us.

Favorite quotes from the book-

""No matter where I go in the world, although I can't speak any foreign language, I don't feel out of place. I think of the earth as my home. If everyone thought this way, people might notice just how foolish international friction is, and they would put an end to it."

and-

"When someone is told over and over again that he's no good at something, he loses more and more confidence and eventually does become poor at it. Conversely, if he's told he's good at something, his confidence builds and he actually becomes better at it. While a person is born with strengths and weaknesses as part of his heredity, they can be greatly altered by later influences."

As an artist and an art instructor, I think the above quote especially true and poignant. I wish more people would think like that, how better a world we would live in.

Tristan's school vacation has ended and we're all a little bit sad today...Ahh, if it were only the beginning of the vacation and not the first day back at school.