Barbara Quotes

No longer are there immutable standards by which to judge ourselves. Image has overtaken reality.

I'm not pretending to be ingenuous; I know what I'm doing.

I learned to produce whether I wanted to or not. It would be easy to say oh, I have writer's block, oh, I have to wait for my muse. I don't. Chain that muse to your desk and get the job done.

I considered her my ally, because, like me, she was imperfect.

If there is no God or no evidence of God and certainly no evidence of a very morally engaged god, then whatever has to be done has to be done by us.

the fastest-growing brand of religion is of the magical 'name it and claim it' variety, in which the deity exists only to meet one's immediate, self-identified needs.

The secret of the truly successful ... is that they learned early in life how not to be busy.

The way you dress is the billboard that tells perceptive people how you feel about yourself.

Pure and unblemished souls must taste very bland, with an aftertaste of bitterness.

I personally am inclined to approach [housework] the way governments treat dissent: ignore it until it revolts.

If you're standing in the manure pile, it's somebody's job to mention the stink.

A conversation isn't a competition.

[On speaking of family secrets:] I don't know how you heal a wound and not let it get some air.

For just once in my life, I'd like to get through a whole week without having to deal with some fool, white or black, who's got an attitude about the way I look.

politics ... is the hottest, most dangerous subject in the land. It's not only a conversation-wrecker, it's a friendship-wrecker, a family-wrecker, a job-wrecker, a future-wrecker.

[On Werner Erhard, founder of est:] If I wanted a new belief system, I'd choose to believe in God - He's been in business longer than Werner, and He has better music.

Tomorrow is another day, we rather hope it will be better but better it won't be unless self-foibles are examined.

Cats always pick the laps of the people who don't like them.

Learning from experience is a faculty almost never practiced

I didn't know I was compared to Elizabeth Montgomery, but I think that I'm in very good company with her.

Don't wait for the muse. She has a lousy work ethic. Writers just write.

I don't invest in rich kids' businesses.

Our physical unity has gone far ahead of our moral unity.

I have confidence that we can form this kind of national community.

Images are made palpable, ironed flat by technology and, in turn, dictate the seemingly real through the representative.

Vengeance is not the point: change is.

If wisdom in government eludes us, perhaps courage could substitute-the moral courage to terminate mistakes.

satire is a wrapping of exaggeration around a core of reality.

Gardening has a magical quality when you are a child.

Good gardening is very simple, really. You just have to learn to think like a plant.

Dulcie always found a public library a little upsetting, for one saw so many odd people there.

When I am happy I am like a cat, sleek and purring, quite useless. It is when I am unhappy, with an ache perhaps in my heart, that I do my finest work.

I decided I ought to pick a project that would not be controversial, that would not really cost the government a lot of money.

Do not fear for me, for I was born only once and i shall die only once.

When you want to get married, ask the universe for a man who has every quality money cannot buy. Then go about to create your own prosperity.

However long you have a cat and however plainly he lays his life open before you, there is always something hidden, some name he goes by in a place you never heard of.

I am also deeply concerned with the widespread, often undiagnosed, incidents of PTSD and the alarming suicide rates amongst our returning soldiers.

Kids can be a pain in the neck when they're not a lump in your throat.

My karma just ran over my dogma.

The trouble with American History is that you don't remember it, and why should you? Nobody does.

Whatever your dreams are, start taking them very, very seriously.

The wheels of justice - they're square wheels.

It's essential to distinguish between events that are really beyond your control and events you caused yourself.

One would think that it would be very easy, with an iconic character like James Bond, to keep making the films, but it hasn't been. But, it sure has been entertaining and rewarding.

I guess the reality is, everybody today has so many gadgets.

I'll do my best to always put God and neighbor ahead of ego, but I want to find myself, and if finding myself means losing my ego self, I'll go there.

Find out what you love. Do it because you love it. Stick with it. Start now.

There is always a realistic way to fulfill any dream. There has never been a dream that you can't have - at least, not the heart of it, not the part you love the most.

How have you arrived at your thinking? Where do your ideas and knowledge come from, and why do you credit some knowledge and discredit others?

I love being alone. I learned that from my father, I think, who loved his own company.