For was that all, she thought bleakly, that love ever was? Something that saved one from loneliness? A sort of insurance policy against not counting?
Sarah WatersRead
She scissored the curls away, and - toms, grow easily sentimental over their haircuts, but I remember this sensation very vividly - it was not like she was cutting hair, it was as if I had a pair of wings beneath my shoulder-blades, that the flesh had all grown over, and she was slicing free.
Interpretation
The quote reflects a transformative experience during a haircut, symbolizing liberation from the past.
In this quote, Sarah Waters describes a profound moment connected to getting a haircut. The act of cutting hair transcends mere aesthetics; it evokes feelings of freedom and release, like shedding a weight or uncovering a hidden aspect of oneself. The metaphor of wings suggests a transformation that allows for growth and new possibilities, making the experience deeply emotional and indicative of change.
In practice
Sharing this quote during a conversation about personal growth and transformation.
For was that all, she thought bleakly, that love ever was? Something that saved one from loneliness? A sort of insurance policy against not counting?
I felt that thread that had come between us, tugging, tugging at my heart - so hard, it hurt me. A hundred times I almost rose, almost went in to her; a hundred times I thought, Go to her! Why are you waiting? Go back to her side! But every time, I thought of what would happen if I did. I knew that I couldn't lie beside her, without wanting to touch her. I couldn't have felt her breath upon my mouth, without wanting to kiss her. And I couldn't have kissed her, without wanting to save her.
How will a person know, Selina, when the soul that has the affinity with hers is near it?" She answered, "She will know. Does she look for air, before she breathes it? This love will be guided to her; and when it comes, she will know. And she will do anything to keep that love about her, then. Because to lose it will be like a death to her.
She supposed that houses, after all - like the lives that were lived in them - were mostly made of space. It was the spaces, in fact, which counted, rather than the bricks.
Living through times of rapid change can be exhilarating, but it also can be very difficult.
Social change involves helping people see new options for making life wonderful that are less costly to get needs met.
Every generation renews itself in its own way; there's always a reaction against whatever is standard.
If we had done the work that we should have done in the 20th century to combat our history of racial inequality, no one could win national office after demonizing people because they're Mexican or Muslim. We would be in a place where we would find that unacceptable.
As populations continue to increase, and the climate continues to deteriorate, and as people flock in ever increasing numbers to large, underdeveloped cities, the threat of multiple protracted mega-emergencies has become reality.
You think OWS is radical? You think 350.org was radical for helping organize mass civil disobedience in D.C. in August against the Keystone Pipeline? We're not radical. Radicals work for oil companies. The CEO of Exxon gets up every morning and goes to work changing the chemical composition of the atmosphere. No one has ever done anything as radical as that, not in all of human history.
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