Behind the violence of the birthing of galaxies and stars and planets came a quiet and tender melody, a gentle love song. All the raging of creation, the continuing hydrogen explosions on the countless suns, the heaving of planetary bodies, all was enfolded in a patient, waiting love.
Interpretation
The quote expresses the idea that even amidst the chaos and violence of creation, there exists an underlying force of love and tenderness.
Madeleine L'Engle's quote reflects on the duality of creation, where the intense and sometimes violent processes of birthing galaxies and stars are softened by an underlying melody of love. It suggests that despite the overwhelming forces at play in the universe, there is a nurturing and patient love that enfolds everything, indicating a deeper connection between chaos and harmony in the cosmos.
In practice
During a lecture on the nature of the universe, this quote can be used to illustrate the balance between chaos and beauty.
Truth is what is true, and it's not necessarily factual. Truth and fact are not the same thing. Truth does not contradict or deny facts, but it goes through and beyond facts. This is something that it is very difficult for some people to understand. Truth can be dangerous.
George MacDonald gives me renewed strength during times of trouble--times when I have seen people tempted to deny God--when he says, "The Son of God suffered unto death, not that men might not suffer, but that their sufferings might be like his.
If you don't recount your family history, it will be lost. Honor your own stories and tell them too. The tales may not seem very important, but they are what binds families and makes each of us who we are.
I never want to lose the story-loving child within me, or the adolescent, or the young woman, or the middle-aged one, because all together they help me to be fully alive on this journey, and show me that I must be willing to go where it takes me, even through the valley of the shadow.
The minute we begin to think we have all the answers, we forget the questions.
When we believe in the impossible, it becomes possible, and we can do all kinds of extraordinary things.
People need a sacred narrative. They must have a sense of larger purpose, in one form or another, however intellectualized. They will find a way to keep ancestral spirits alive.
I think that society has to be careful not to shift all of its resources to the elderly versus the young.
Sometimes it seems as though each new step towards AI, rather than producing something which everyone agrees is real intelligence, merely reveals what real intelligence is not.
Human security recognizes the importance of individuals and that the key to ensuring growth in developing countries is to foster individual talent and abilities, build self-reliance, and put people in a position to make a broader contribution to society. Growth must be inclusive, and no one must be left behind.
We do not celebrate the death of our enemies.
Young man, nature is not frightening, it's people who are frightening! You just need to get to know nature and it will become friendly. This creature known as man is of course highly intelligent, he's capable of manufacturing almost anything from rumours to test-tube babies and yet he destroys two to three species every day. This is the absurdity of man.
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