What an incredible series of woodblock prints by Hasui Kawase. I came across his paintings recently and can’t get enough of the surreal landscapes! It’s almost as if he was able to capture a quiet moment and paint that exact feeling of solitude. Here’s my favorite one.
“The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself.”
The man was a genius, and is still cited as one of the most influential and inspiring philosophers of all time. Happy birthday Friedrich Nietzsche!
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” -Theodore Roosevelt
Let’s face it, Theodore Roosevelt might have been the burliest man in history. For God’s sake, the guy was shot at close range, suffered a flesh wound, and still managed to continue his presidential speech with the bullet still in his body — the guy knew what he was talking about. “The Man in the Arena” is one of my favorite quotes, and the video above is a great visual addition to inspiring words. Have a good weekend folks!