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…and there, in the background, the sky’s sediment had sunk to a place where all the woe of the words ‘I am’ dissolved into blue peace. He said it. ‘The ocean.
David Mitchell
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Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote reflects a sense of tranquility that comes from self-acceptance and the vastness of nature.

In this quote, David Mitchell captures a profound moment of realization where the burdens and struggles of identity and existence ('I am') fade away, replaced by a sense of serene peace symbolized by the ocean and the expansive sky. The imagery evokes an understanding that amidst life's challenges, there exists an overarching calm, suggesting that acceptance of oneself can lead to inner tranquility and connection with the natural world.

Themes

PeaceSelf-AcceptanceNatureTranquilityOcean

In practice

Example use cases

During a meditation session, I reflected on the beauty of nature using this quote.

More from David Mitchell

Dreams are shores where the ocean of spirit meets the land of matter. Dreams are beaches where the yet-to-be, the once-were, the will-never-be may walk awhile with the still-are.
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The Revelation of Sonmi 451 To be is to be perceived, and so to know thyself is only possible through the eyes of the other. The nature of our immortal lives is in the consequences of our words and deeds, that go on and are pushing themselves throughout all time. - Our lives are not our own. From womb to tomb, we are bound to others, past and present, and by each crime and every kindness, we birth our future.
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How vulgar, this hankering after immortality, how vain, how false. Composers are merely scribblers of cave paintings. One writes music because winter is eternal and because, if one didn't, the wolves and blizzards would be at one's throat all the sooner.
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. . .my dreams are the single unpredictable factor in my zoned days and nights. Nobody allots them, or censors them. Dreams are all I have ever truly owned.
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My life amounts to no more than one drop in a limitless ocean. Yet what is any ocean, but a multitude of drops?
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Human beings need to watch out for reasonless niceness too. It's never reasonless and its reason's not usually nice.
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