Seek the lofty by reading, hearing and seeing great work at some moment every day. — Thornton Wilder

Seek the lofty by reading, hearing and seeing great work at some moment every day.

Author: Thornton Wilder

Insight: There's something quietly radical about making this a daily practice rather than an occasional treat. We don't think of encountering greatness as maintenance—like brushing teeth or stretching—but Wilder is suggesting it should be. When you deliberately expose yourself to something excellent every single day, you're not just consuming culture. You're training your mind to recognize quality, to crave it, to notice when you're settling for mediocrity in other areas of your life. The modern trap is believing we need huge chunks of time for this. But Wilder says "some moment"—which could be fifteen minutes with a poem, a piece of music during your commute, or standing in front of a painting. The barrier to entry is actually low. What's harder is the consistency, the refusal to let a day pass without it. When you skip it, you notice something's missing. That shift matters. You begin to expect more of yourself and your attention. The non-obvious part: this isn't really about becoming cultured or impressing anyone. It's about keeping yourself honest. Great work shows you what's possible—in writing, in thinking, in how humans can arrange language or color or sound. It reminds you that mediocrity isn't inevitable. That alone is worth the daily investment.