The importance of what we call "sickness"

"We come into this world with a very precise intention, and in that intention we have enough time and enough energy to express that one question and answer to that one question that governs our life, and how our life unfolds becomes the answer. And, he said that the symptoms that we experience that everybody gets uncomfortable with are actually the map back to our original intention, and eliminating the symptoms without following the map ruins the possibility to authenticate ourselves in this life". Gerald Cohen citing Fourteenth Century philosopher Chicatilia. 

Okay, so you’ve got this...

"Okay, so you’ve got this many grants, you’ve got this long a resume, you have these people that hate you, you have these people that love you, you’ve done this piece, that piece, this piece, that piece…The only reason for doing it is that you might have the joy of discovery on a day-to-day level. The only reason for doing it is really that you love doing it. What it gets down to is: how do you want to spend your time on Earth?"
~Meredith Monk, from "Heresies: A Feminist Publication on Art & Politics"

(Thanks to my friend Leah for this quote)