But Chinese civilization has the overpowering beauty of the wholly other, and only the wholly other can inspire the deepest love and the profoundest desire to learn.
Interpretation
Chinese civilization offers unique beauty that sparks deep love and a desire for knowledge.
In this quote, Joseph Needham emphasizes the profound impact of Chinese civilization on individuals, suggesting that its distinct beauty captivates the heart and inspires a desire for understanding. This 'wholly other' quality refers to cultural aspects that are vastly different from one's own, invoking admiration and motivating a pursuit of knowledge about the unfamiliar.
In practice
In a lecture about cultural appreciation, one could use this quote to highlight the value of learning from other civilizations.
Learning to stop sweating the small stuff involves deciding what things to engage in and what things to ignore. From a certain perspective, life can be described as a series of mistakes, one right after another with a little space in between.
Perfectionism spells paralysis.
Like all sweet dreams, it will be brief, but brevity makes sweetness, doesn't it?
In the intricate paths of life when difficulties and hardships confront a man, and the darkness of difficulty and suffering becomes long, it is patience only that acts like a light for a Muslim, that keeps him safe from wandering here and there, and saves him from the muddy marsh of disappointment, desperation and frustration.
I never regret anything. Because every little detail of your life is what made you into who you are in the end.
It is always with excitement that I wake up in the morning wondering what my intuition will toss up to me, like gifts from the sea. I work with it and rely on it. It's my partner.
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