While reflecting upon Ray Bradbury’s death, after reading about it in the Los Angeles times article by Lynell George, I was touched by the childlike qualities of Bradbury’s character. A few quotes stood out for me. I would like to share them here and why they are important to me, and profoundly so!

“Bradbury had very strong opinions about what the future had become. In the drive to make their lives smart and efficient, humans, he feared, had lost touch with their soul.”

Though I do enjoy the benefits of technology I can understand Bradbury’s statement. I would be lost on a  typewriter.  He was a genius when using this machine.  I think we need to find places that tend to the soul. I am not thinking about church or religion, but to the qualities of life that sustain the soul, such as reading, friends, music and beer. To plan time away from  others. As an introvert I find that time alone is one of the most precious ways in staying in touch with my soul. Also, to push my comfort zone now and then on some crazy adventure.

A  quote from the article takes another direct quote from Bradbury,

“We’ve got to dumb America up again” he said.

Joe Strummer from the Clash also made a statement along the some lines as,

“You’ve gotta be slightly stupid.”

To me this is a pun on childlike learning,  understanding innocence and applying this to each moment of life, and to new experiences. The world’s problems can be solved by fresh and creative minds.

Another quote I took from the article makes me think of William Blake, because like Blake, Bradbury had an enormous imagination.

“For Blake, paradise was the human imagination, and he spent most of his time there…His greatest achievement in his poetry and his designs is to carry us with him into such an imaginative world.”  {The Stranger From Paradise by G.E. Bentley Jr, introduction XXV}.

Bradbury states his greatest achievement in a statement from Times Magazine on his 90th birthday,

“All I can do is to teach people to fall in love…my advice to them is, do what you love , and love what you do…if I can teach them that, I’ve done a great job.”

In conclusion I was amazed to read this from the article,

“Bradbury’s follow-up bestseller, 1953’s Fahrenheit 451 was based on two earlier short stories and written in the basement of the UCLA library, where he fed the typewriter 10 cents every half-hour…as Bradbury says “You’d type like hell” he often recalled “I spent $9.80 and in nine days I had “Fahrenheit 451.”

What an inspiration!!

---