You looking good." "Devil's confusion. He lets me look good long as I feel bad.
Toni MorrisonRead
There is a certain kind of peace that is not merely the absence of war. It is larger than that. The peace I am thinking of is not at the mercy of history's rule, nor is it a passive surrender to the status quo. The peace I am thinking of is the dance of an open mind when it engages another equally open one -- an activity that occurs most naturally, most often in the reading/writing world we live in. Accessible as it is, this particular kind of peace warrants vigilance.
Interpretation
What this quote means
True peace involves active engagement and understanding, not just a lack of conflict.
In this quote, Toni Morrison expresses that peace transcends the mere absence of war or conflict; it embodies a deeper, active engagement between individuals who are open-minded and willing to communicate. It suggests that peace is a dynamic process that requires vigilance and active participation, especially in the realm of ideas, such as through reading and writing, highlighting the importance of mutual understanding and respect in achieving genuine harmony.
Themes
PeaceEngagementUnderstandingOpen-MindednessVigilance
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a speech about fostering dialogue in conflict resolution.
More from Toni Morrison
All quotes →What do you say? There really are no words for that. There really aren't. Somebody tries to say, 'I'm sorry, I'm so sorry.' People say that to me. There's no language for it. Sorry doesn't do it. I think you should just hug people and mop their floor or something.
Toni MorrisonRead
An innocent man is a sin before God. Inhuman and therefore untrustworthy. No man should live without absorbing the sins of his kind, the foul air of his innocence, even if it did wilt rows of angel trumpets and cause them to fall from their vines.
Toni MorrisonRead
Like friendship, hatred needed more than physical intimacy; it wanted creativity and hard work to sustain itself
Toni MorrisonRead
One of my kids was born in 1968. There were going to be political difficulties, but they were never going to have that level of hatred and contempt that my brothers and my sister and myself were exposed to.
Toni MorrisonRead
In a way, her strangeness, her naiveté, her craving for the other half of her equation was the consequence of an idle imagination. Had she paints, or clay, or knew the discipline of the dance, or strings, had she anything to engage her tremendous curiosity and her gift for metaphor, she might have exchanged the restlessness and preoccupation with whim for an activity that provided her with all she yearned for. And like an artist with no art form, she became dangerous.
Toni MorrisonRead
Similar quotes
It may seem sometimes as if a culture of peace does not stand a chance against the culture of war, the culture of violence and the cultures of impunity and intolerance. Peace may indeed be a complex challenge, dependent on action in many fields and even a bit of luck from time to time. It may be a painfully slow process, and fragile and imperfect when it is achieved. But peace is in our hands. We can do it.
Kofi AnnanRead
Security is the absolute precondition for sustainable recovery from conflict; without it, people cannot rebuild their country or return to school or work.
Richard N. HaassRead
I am convinced that the women of the world, united without any regard for national or racial dimensions, can become a most powerful force for international peace and brotherhood.
Coretta Scott KingRead
Like any other people, like fathers, mothers, sons and daughters in every land, when the issue of peace or war has been put squarely to the American people, they have registered for peace.
Paul RobesonRead
Let us ever remember that our interest is in concord, not in conflict; and that our real eminence rests in the victories of peace, not those of war.
William MckinleyRead
Too often, U.N. peacekeepers face an impossible task in countries that are still at war and where there is no real peace to keep.
Antonio GuterresRead