"My idea of success...is personal freedom...from everything-from money, from poverty, from ease and anxiety, from all the material accidents. To keep a kind of republic of the spirit" (70) -Selden

We talked about this passage today in class when describing Selden's character. I think that this is a very moving idea. Things are nice to have, but they are just things. The real gift in this lifetime is to appreciate that over which man has no control. There is a piece of poetry my mom has hanging in her powder room; I happened to notice Professor Dolson has the same piece in her room the other day:

“A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful implanted in the human soul.” --Johann Wolfgang Goethe

My mom is a firm believer in appreciating the little things. Nature, poetry, art, music; these are the beautiful things in the world. A cute pair of shoes may be nice, but the truly beautiful things in this lifetime do not have price tags.