But only a brief moment is granted to the brave one breath or two, whose wage is the long nights of the grave.
Interpretation
The courageous face challenges, but their time is fleeting and often leads to sacrifice.
Muhammad Iqbal suggests that those who display bravery are only given a short time to act, symbolized by just 'a breath or two'. This fleeting moment reflects the high cost of courage, leading to the inevitable conclusion that bravery often comes with significant sacrifice, including the ultimate price of life itself, represented by 'the long nights of the grave'.
In practice
During a motivational speech about facing fears, this quote can inspire individuals to take risks.
The revealed and mystic literature of mankind bears ample testimony to the fact that religious experience has been too enduring and dominant in the history of mankind to be rejected as mere illusion. There seems to be no reason, then, to accept the normal level of human experience as fact and reject its other levels as mystical and emotional.
I have seen the movement of the sinews of the sky, And the blood coursing in the veins of the moon.
let this be our beautiful departure from stagnation; let our minds come alive; enter another dimension; go beyond the stars eagerly struggling to find that... which our naked eyes did not know existed; rise like a falcon born to soar and not be alone but be present amongst others.
The soul is neither inside nor outside the body; neither proximate to nor separate from it.
The wing of the Falcon brings to the king, the wing if the crow brings him to the cemetery.
The truth is that the religious and the scientific processes, though involving different methods, are identical in their final aim. Both aim at reaching the most real.
We were marooned in a frozen desert. There was not a sign of life on the horizon and a thousand signs of death... The marvel is we did not all die of cold.
I will always remember the first show I did clean and sober... It was in New Mexico, in Albuquerque. I literally felt elevated, as everything was coming with such clarity.
You have a right to say no. Most of us have very weak and flaccid 'no' muscles. We feel guilty for saying no. We get ostracized and challenged for saying no, so we forget it's our choice. Your 'no' muscle has to be built up to get to a place where you can say, 'I don't care if that's what you want. I don't want that. No.'
Being a pathfinder is to be willing to risk failure and still go on.
During my New York run, I injured my voice badly. I was getting increasingly hoarse, and it finally gave up. The doctor said I had two choices. Either cancel things, or try my luck and perhaps never speak again. That's not much of a choice.
My strength comes from my abdomen. It's the center of gravity and the source of real power.
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