Norman Cousins Quotes

To think is to confine yourself to a single thought that one day stands still like a star in the world's sky.

They only babble who practise not reflection.

Time given to thought is the greatest time saver of all.

Fishing provides time to think, and reason not to. If you have the virtue of patience, an hour or two of casting alone is plenty of time to review all you’ve learned about the grand themes of life.

For me, writing is a way of thinking. I write in a journal a lot. I'm a very impatient person, so writing and meditation allow me to slow down and watch my mind; they are containers that keep me in place, hold me still.

When I was in lower school, I graduated from fourth grade, and the principal gave us a summer assignment to take a 30-minute reflection period every day. And, of course, there were no cell phones at the time. She said to just think. And that's lost. It doesn't exist anymore. Just imagine being on a couch and just thinking.

Never be afraid to sit a while and think.

Quiet time and solitude are vital to helping me keep perspective. I consider myself fortunate to have so much quiet built into my profession. I spend long hours by myself at my easel. And while I work, I think-of the future, of my loved ones, of God's goodness and the many exciting opportunities that surround me. I ponder the challenges I face, the needs of others, the direction my life is going.

We skim over the surface thoughtlessly. But we must acknowledge that thinking well is a time-consuming process. We can't expect instant results. We have to slow down a bit, and take the time to contemplate, meditate, and even pray. It is the only route to a more meaningful and efficient existence.

One sits down first; one thinks afterwards.

I insist on a lot of time being spent, almost every day, to just sit and think. That is very uncommon in American business.

To meditate is to labour; to think is to act.

The difference between me and many young people is, I don't carry music with me. I like to think. I don't use any modern convenience to be talking to other people, because I like my time to think. I go to the garden in the morning, and this time, I'm thinking ideas, I'm not drawing, I'm thinking.

Only the thinking man lives his life, the thoughtless man's life passes him by.

No writing on the solitary, meditative dimensions of life can say anything that has not already been said better by the wind in the pine trees.

This benefit of seeing...can come only if you pause a while, extricate yourself from the maddening mob of quick impressions ceaselessly battering our lives, and look thoughtfully at a quiet image...the viewer must be willing to pause, to look again, to meditate.

Truth is the offspring of silence and meditation.

He is thinking quietly: I should not have got out of the habit of prayer.

It is important from time to time to slow down, to go away by yourself, and simply be.

I aspire only to silence.

What is this life if, full of care, we have no time to stand and stare?

Night is the mother of thoughts.

In order to improve the mind, we ought less to learn, than to contemplate.

In this world, where everything happens so fast, it's hard to sit back, take the time and contemplate.

Some of the most powerful times are when we're quiet.