Faith consists in being vitally concerned with that ultimate reality to which I give the symbolical name of God. Whoever reflects earnestly on the meaning of life is on the verge of an act of faith.
Paul TillichRead
The awareness of the ambiguity of one's highest achievements, as well as one's deepest failures is a definite symptom of maturity.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Maturity involves recognizing the complexities in both success and failure.
This quote by Paul Tillich suggests that true maturity is characterized by an awareness that both our greatest successes and our most significant failures are not absolute. Instead, they often carry ambiguity and complexity, reflecting the multifaceted nature of life and personal growth. Embracing this ambiguity can lead to greater wisdom and understanding.
Themes
MaturityAmbiguitySuccessFailureAwareness
In practice
Example use cases
Using this quote in a personal development seminar can inspire attendees to embrace their failures as learning opportunities.
More from Paul Tillich
All quotes βCruelty towards others is always also cruelty towards ourselves.
Paul TillichRead
He who risks and fails can be forgiven. He who never risks and never fails is a failure in his whole being.
Paul TillichRead
The courage to be is the courage to accept oneself, in spite of being unacceptable.
Paul TillichRead
The citizens of a city are not guilty of the crimes committed in their city; but they are guilty as participants in the destiny of [humanity] as a whole and in the destiny of their city in particular; for their acts in which freedom was united with destiny have contributed to the destiny in which they participate. They are guilty, not of committing the crimes of which their group is accused, but of contributing to the destiny in which these crimes happened.
Paul TillichRead
Wine is like the incarnation--it is both divine and human
Paul TillichRead
Similar quotes
Many shots are spoiled at the last instant by efforts to add a few more yards.
Bobby JonesRead
Intellectual honesty is the quality that the public in free countries always has expected of historians; much more than that it does not expect, nor often get.
Samuel Eliot MorisonRead
It is astonishing what an effort it seems to be for many people to put their brains definitely and systematically to work.
Thomas A. EdisonRead
Too many of us now tend to worship self indulgence and consumption.
Jimmy CarterRead
You take a step, then another. That's the journey. But to take a step with your eyes open is not a journey at all, it's a remaking of your own mind.
Orson Scott CardRead
The man that brings ant-infested faggots into his hut should not grumble when lizards begin to pay him a visit.
Chinua AchebeRead