“Physical things are eloquent tokens of ideas,enriched by new meanings through time even when the tokens are no more than evanescent paper… — Mary Catherine Bateson Copy Share Image
When parents die, all of the partings of the past are reevoked with the realization that this time they will not return. — Mary Catherine Bateson Copy Share Image
The past empowers the present, and the sweeping footsteps leading to this present mark the pathways to the future. — Mary Catherine Bateson Copy Share Image
In many ways, constancy is an illusion. After all, our ancestors were immigrants, many of them moving on every few years; today… — Mary Catherine Bateson Copy Share Image
Every loss recapitulates earlier losses, but every affirmation of identity echoes earlier moments of clarity. — Mary Catherine Bateson Copy Share Image
“As people grow older, some of the ways they have contributed in the past may no longer be possible, but the challenge… — Mary Catherine Bateson Copy Share Image
I had repeatedly accepted inappropriate burdens, stepping in to do what needed to be done. In retrospect, I think I carried them… — Mary Catherine Bateson Copy Share Image
“Sorting gets harder as time goes on--it requires a sort of ruthless decisiveness, while indecision results in endless dithering. Five moves, they… — Mary Catherine Bateson Copy Share Image
“It's all about being in control of myself as an older woman who lives alone, and it's all about how I am going to… — Mary Catherine Bateson Copy Share Image
The critical question about regret is whether experience led to growth and new learning. Some people seem to keep on making the same mistakes,… — Mary Catherine Bateson Copy Share Image
Monotony and repetition are characteristic of many parts of life, but these do not become sources of conscious discomfort until novelty and entertainment are… — Mary Catherine Bateson Copy Share Image
“ We never promised we would stay the same,/But only we would shape our change/From this now single clay. [p. 82]” — Mary Catherine Bateson Copy Share Image
“Moving is both liberating and debilitating. Undertaken too late, it is a very stressful process, one that sometimes seems to catapult people into frail… — Mary Catherine Bateson Copy Share Image
Improvisation and new learning are not private processes; they are shared with others at every age. We are called to join in a dance… — Mary Catherine Bateson Copy Share Image
“Real winners in a rapidly changing world will be those who are open to alternatives and able to respect and value those who are… — Mary Catherine Bateson Copy Share Image
“Self-care should include the cold shower as well as the scented tub.” — Mary Catherine Bateson Copy Share Image
A suprising number of physicians manage to continue to care about persons even after the rigors of medical training. — Mary Catherine Bateson Copy Share Image
Worlds can be found by a child and an adult bending down and looking together under the grass stems or at the skittering crabs… — Mary Catherine Bateson Copy Share Image
“Physical things are eloquent tokens of ideas,enriched by new meanings through time even when the tokens are no more than evanescent paper representations.” — Mary Catherine Bateson Copy Share Image
