Respect for the fragility and importance of an individual life is still the mark of an educated man.
Norman CousinsRead
To be able to rise from the earth; to be able, from a station in outer space, to see the relationship of the planet earth to other planets; to be able to contemplate the billions of factors in precise and beautiful combination that make human existence possible; to be able to dwell on an encounter of the human brain and spirit with the universe
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes the interconnectedness of human existence with the universe and the beauty of understanding our place within it.
Norman Cousins expresses a profound appreciation for the complexity and beauty of life, highlighting the importance of perspective in understanding our existence. By imagining a view from outer space, he invites us to consider not only our relationship with the Earth and other celestial bodies but also the intricate factors that allow life to thrive. This contemplation encourages a deep reflection on the unity of the human experience within the vastness of the universe.
Themes
PerspectiveUniverseExistenceHumanityInterconnectedness
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be used in a graduation speech to inspire students to think broadly about their future.
More from Norman Cousins
All quotes →Never deny a diagnosis, but do deny the negative verdict that may go with it.
Norman CousinsRead
Although a man may have no jurisdiction over the fact of his existence, he can hold supreme command over the meaning of existence for him.
Norman CousinsRead
People are never more insecure than when they become obsessed with their fears at the expense of their dreams.
Norman CousinsRead
Reverence for life is more than solicitude or sensitivity for life. It is a sense of the whole, a capacity for inspired response, a respect for the intricate universe of individual life. It is the supreme awareness of awareness itself.
Norman CousinsRead
Drugs are not always necessary. Belief in recovery always is.
Norman CousinsRead
Similar quotes
Any victory would be dear at such a price.
Robert E. LeeRead
The man or nation of high culture may acknowledge to great lengths the restraints imposed by conventions and honour, but beyond a certain point, primitive will or desire cannot be curbed.
H. P. LovecraftRead
I never understood why when you died, you didn't just vanish, everything could just keep going on the way it was only you just wouldn't be there. I always thought I'd like my own tombstone to be blank. No epitaph, and no name. Well, actually, I'd like it to say 'figment.'
Andy WarholRead
A Religion of Evolution: that, when all is said and done, is what Man needs ever more explicitly if he is to survive and 'superlive,' as soon as he becomes conscious of his power to ultra-hominize himself and of his duty to do so.
Pierre Teilhard De ChardinRead
For all professional pilots there exists a kind of guild, without charter and without by-laws. it demands no requirements for inclusion save an understanding of the wind, the compass, the rudder, and fair fellowship.
Beryl MarkhamRead
What we need to do is break the financial community's grip on society.
Nassim Nicholas TalebRead