Quote Of The Day By David Bowie: 'I'm Not Quite An Atheist And It Worries Me. There's That Little Bit That...'

David Bowie is one of rock 'n' roll's greatest shapeshifters and innovators. His early '70s glam rock persona, Ziggy Stardust, made Bowie an icon, but he never stopped moving forward, always evolving as a musician, songwriter, producer, painter, actor, and artist. With hit songs like "Space Oddity," "Changes," "Fame," and "Young Americans," he charted a course across genres and styles like none other. "I love it," he told Rolling Stone in 1976, "I'm really just my own little corporation of characters."

Born David Robert Jones in 1947, Bowie got his start in music as a teenager, singing and playing saxophone in the clubs of London. Early forays into the business didn't bring him success, and it wasn't until 1969 that he broke through with "Space Oddity." On top of legendary albums, there are countless Bowie collabs that music fans love, with a list that includes John Lennon, Iggy Pop, Freddy Mercury, and Trent Reznor. Unsurprisingly, he was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1996. 

But at times, Bowie's life took a tragic turn. He grew up in the shadow of family mental health issues, faced several recurring personal challenges in the '70s, and was slowed down by health issues in the mid-2000s. On January 10th of 2016, just days after the release of the album "Blackstar," Bowie stunned the world for the last time, dying from cancer that had not been publicly disclosed. There's never been an artist like him: Bowie journeyed into outer and inner space, as well as our playlists, and because he always explored who he was and what he believed, he's our quote of the day.

"Questioning my spiritual life has always been germane to what I was writing. Always. It's because I'm not quite an atheist and it worries me. There's that little bit that holds on: 'Well, I'm almost an atheist. Give me a couple of months.'"

While putting the finishing touches on the album "Reality" in 2003, David Bowie conducted an interview with Anthony DeCurtis that was published on Beliefnet. "It's the old chestnut: What is real and what isn't?" he remarked of the album. "It's actually about who's stolen this world."

A longtime resident of Manhattan, Bowie was also asked about the impact of the September 11th attacks on him and his hometown. "We really felt freewheeling and that 'tomorrow belongs to us,' anything can happen," he reflected. "Now, there's not quite that swaying surge of hopefulness." The 2002 album "Heathen" was his response. "It was written as a deeply questioning album," he noted,"... So that was quite a traumatic album to finish." In the face of a stolen world, Bowie asked the big questions, and despite his doubts, he held a space in his heart for spirituality.

To David Bowie, art and spirituality were always intertwined, and were more about asking questions than seeking answers. "I honestly believe that my initial questions haven't changed at all," he told Antony DeCurtis. "There are far fewer of them these days, but they're really important." He appeared uneasy that he could never completely cast aside some kernel of belief in a higher power or God.

Part of what makes Bowie so iconic is that he challenged everything: his art and music, his personas and identity, and indeed both his spirituality and lack thereof. No doubt, it's that perpetual questioning that allowed him to evolve and flower as a musician and artist. He was never static or content to sit still as he cruised from glam rock through the blues and R&B to experimental rock and jazz — and beyond.

More importantly, always being willing to question and evolve allowed Bowie to grow into himself as a parent and family man. "... somebody said that as you get older you become the person you always should have been," he said, "and I feel like that's happening to me." Be critical and push back at both prevailing dogmas and your own beliefs, Bowie seems to be saying, because there's always value in seeking out answers. Even as the fundamental questions never change, even as answers aren't always forthcoming, it's always worth asking them. But at the same time, keep your heart and mind open: have a little faith.

• "All clichés are true. The years really do speed by. Life really is as short as they tell you it is. And there really is a God — so do I buy that one? If all the other clichés are true ... Hell, don't pose me that one." 
• "I don't want to get other people playing with what they think that I'm trying to do. I don't like to read things that people write about me. I'd rather read what kids have to say about me, because it's not their profession to do that." 
• "I'm not sure whether it is me changing my mind, or whether I lie a lot. It's somewhere between the two. I don't exactly lie, I change my mind all the time. People are always throwing things at me that I've said and I say that I didn't mean anything. You can't stand still on one point for your entire life." 
• "I always had a repulsive sort of need to be something more than human. I felt very very puny as a human ... I guess I realized very early that man isn't a very clever mechanism. I wanted to make myself better. I always thought that I should change all the time." 
• "If I'd been an original thinker. I'd never have been in rock & roll. There's no new [way] of saying anything." 
• "I must have the total image of a stage show. It has to be total with me. I'm just not content writing songs, I want to make it three-dimensional. Songwriting as an art is a bit archaic now. Just writing a song is not good enough." 
• "Maybe history is dead, and if it is, it quite likely means that the future is dead, because they are two sides of the same coin."