Truth has beauty, power, and necessity.
Sylvia Townsend WarnerRead
It is best as one grows older to strip oneself of possessions, to shed oneself downward like a tree, to be almost wholly earth before one dies.
Interpretation
As we age, it is wise to let go of material possessions and become more grounded.
Sylvia Townsend Warner suggests that as we advance in age, we should focus on simplifying our lives by shedding unnecessary possessions, similar to a tree shedding leaves. This process allows us to connect more deeply with the earth and prepare ourselves for the inevitability of death, encouraging a more meaningful existence that prioritizes what truly matters.
In practice
In a speech reflecting on life's journey at a retirement ceremony.
Truth has beauty, power, and necessity.
I wish you could see the two cats drowsing side by side in a Victorian nursing chair, their paws, their ears, their tails complementarily adjusted, their blue eyes blinking open on a single thought of when I shall remember it's their supper time. They might have been composed by Bach for two flutes.
And when you try too hard, it doesn't work. Try grabbing something quickly and precisely with a tensed-up arm; then relax and try it again. Try doing something with a tense mind. The surest way to become Tense, Awkward, and Confused is to develop a mind that tries too hard-one that thinks too much.
It is harder to avoid censure than to gain applause.
The ability to take another perspective has become one of the keys to both sales and non-sales selling. And the social science research on perspective-taking yields some important lessons for all of us.
Your own Self-realization is the greatest service you can render the world.
I think that in general it is a good plan occasionally to bear in mind the fact that people were in the habit of dreaming before there was such a thing as psychoanalysis.
Faith is believing that the universe is on our side, and that the universe knows what it's doing. Faith is a psychological awareness of an unfolding force for good, constantly at work in all dimensions. Our attempts to direct this force only interferes with it. Our willingness to relax into it allows it to work on our behalf.
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