Quote of the Day (Mary Steenburgen, on Pursuing a New Creative Direction in One’s Mature Years)

“To say yes to something brand new when you're not young is a really interesting thing to do. Our society doesn't encourage that. You're encouraged to try new things when you're young, and then nobody says that to you anymore at a certain age. I did get a little pushback. People said, ‘You already have a career. Why are you doing this?’ Because my heart is desiring it so fiercely I can't ignore it. If you're lucky enough to be alive, why would you creatively kill yourself off? Why not say yes to all of it at any age?”—Oscar-winning actress Mary Steenburgen, 66, on taking up songwriting in the last dozen years, quoted in Bruce Fretts, “A Musical Detour in the Acting Life,” The New York Times, Jan. 11, 2020 

(The accompanying photo, showing Ms. Steenburgen at a ceremony to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, was taken Dec. 16, 2009, by Angela George.)

Quote of the Day (Madeleine L'Engle, on Maturity and Vulnerability)

“When we were children, we used to think that when we were grown-up we would no longer be vulnerable. But to grow up is to accept vulnerability...To be alive is to be vulnerable.”—American young-adult writer Madeleine L'Engle (1918-2007), Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art (1980)

Quote of the Day (Eleanor Roosevelt, on the ‘Mature Person’)

“A mature person is one who does not think only in absolutes, who is able to be objective even when deeply stirred emotionally, who has learned that there is both good and bad in all people and all things, and who walks humbly and deals charitably with the circumstances of life, knowing that in this world no one is all-knowing and therefore all of us need both love and charity.” — Eleanor Roosevelt, You Learn by Living: Eleven Keys for a More Fulfilling Life (1960)