Quote of the Day (Erich Fromm, on Giving)

“Giving is the highest expression of potency. In the very act of giving, I experience my strength, my wealth, my power. This experience of heightened vitality and potency fills me with joy. I experience myself as overflowing, spending, alive, hence as joyous. Giving is more joyous than receiving, not because it is a deprivation, but because in the act of giving lies the expression of my aliveness.”— German-American psychoanalyst and social philosopher Erich Fromm (1900-1980), The Art of Loving (1958)

Photo of the Day: The Glow of a Heart

“Love isn't something natural. Rather it requires discipline, concentration, patience, faith, and the overcoming of narcissism. It isn't a feeling, it is a practice.”—Erich Fromm, The Art of Loving (1956)

Starting this past weekend, Times Square has run a promotion by architectural firm Bjarke Ingels Group: If you hold your hand over a large button, a fluorescent “heart” within a 10-ft. crystalline cube begins to glow. When several people put their hands over the button, the heart really glows.  I took this shot on Friday, as clumps of passersby began to gawk and/or line up for photo opportunities.

Oh, yes: Happy Valentine's Day!