It is good to have an end to journey towards; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.
Ursula K. Le GuinRead
Almost anything carried to a logical extreme becomes depressing.
Interpretation
Extreme ideas or beliefs, when taken too far, can lead to negativity and hopelessness.
This quote by Ursula K. Le Guin suggests that when we take any idea or concept to its logical conclusion without moderation, we often end up in a bleak or disheartening place. It emphasizes the importance of balance and caution in our thinking, as extremes can obscure the nuances and complexities of life, leading to a sense of despair.
In practice
In a discussion about political ideologies, this quote can highlight the dangers of radicalism.
It is good to have an end to journey towards; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.
In reading a novel, any novel, we have to know perfectly well that the whole thing is nonsense, and then, while reading, believe every word of it. Finally, when we're done with it, we may find - if it's a good novel - that we're a bit different from what we were before we read it, that we have changed a little... But it's very hard to say just what we learned, how we were changed.
Reason is a faculty far larger than mere objective force. When either the political or the scientific discourse announces itself as the voice of reason, it is playing God, and should be spanked and stood in the corner.
The only thing that makes life possible is permanent, intolerable uncertainty; not knowing what comes next.
We read books to find out who we are. What other people, real or imaginary, do and think and feel... is an essential guide to our understanding of what we ourselves are and may become.
When he found that the administrators were upset, he laughed. βDo they expect students not to be anarchists?β he said. βWhat else can the young be? When you are on the bottom, you must organize from the bottom up
Quietly they moved down the calm and sacred river that had come down to earth so that its waters might flow over the ashes of those long dead, and that would continue to flow long after the human race had, through hatred and knowledge, burned itself out.
If you truly believe in the value of life, you care about all of the weakest and most vulnerable members of society.
The generosity of the Earth allows us to feed all mankind; we know enough about ecology to keep the Earth a healthy place; there is enough room on the Earth, and there are enough materials, so that everybody can have adequate shelter; we are quite competent enough to produce sufficient supplies of necessities so that no one need live in misery.
It's only now that I see the bigger picture: Our ways to attain spirituality may be different - through diverse religious, customs and traditions - but they're modeled on similar principles and ideologies. That's what ties us all together.
I call him religious who understands the suffering of others.
God never talks. But the devil keeps advertising, Father. The devil does a lot of commercials.
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