journal features

gracious in defeat

the journal of Michael Werneburg

twenty-seven years and one million words

Toronto, 2017.04.11

Two women colleagues described me as "gracious" today; I don't think that word means what they think it means. In fact, one said, "I think you are one of the most gracious and authentic people I have ever had the pleasure to meet - I hope that we have the chance to work together on a project again someday."

Well, I can see the authentic, but....

rand()m quote

If a person has ugly thoughts, it begins to show on the face. And when that person has ugly thoughts every day, every week, every year, the face gets uglier and uglier until you can hardly bear to look at it. A person who has good thoughts cannot ever be ugly. You can have a wonky nose and a crooked mouth and a double chin and stick-out teeth, but if you have good thoughts it will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely.

—Roald Dahl