No destiny attacks us from outside. But, within him, man bears his fate and there comes a moment when he knows himself vulnerable; and then, as in a vertigo, blunder upon blunder lures him.
Interpretation
Our fate is determined more by our internal struggles than by external forces.
This quote suggests that although we may think of destiny as an external force, it is actually shaped by our own internal battles and self-awareness. When we become aware of our vulnerabilities, we face the risk of making mistakes that compound our challenges, leading to a cycle of difficulties influenced by our own perceptions and decisions.
In practice
Use this quote in a motivational speech about personal development and understanding one's own strengths and weaknesses.
Grown-ups love figures... When you tell them you've made a new friend they never ask you any questions about essential matters. They never say to you "What does his voice sound like? What games does he love best? Does he collect butterflies? " Instead they demand "How old is he? How much does he weigh? How much money does his father make? " Only from these figures do they think they have learned anything about him.
Attitude is a paintbrush. It colors everything!
Water, thou hast no taste, no color, no odor; canst not be defined, art relished while ever mysterious. Not necessary to life, but rather life itself, thou fillest us with a gratification that exceeds the delight of the senses.
In those days, I didn't understand anything. I should have judged her according to her actions, not her words. She perfumed my planet and lit up my life. I should never have run away! I ought to have realized the tenderness underlying her silly pretensions. Flowers are so contadictory! But I was too young to know how to love her.
When a mystery is too overpowering, one dare not disobey.
When the body sinks into death, the essence of man is revealed. Man is a knot, a web, a mesh into which relationships are tied. Only those relationships matter. The body is an old crock that nobody will miss. I have never known a man to think of himself when dying. Never.
This was not a fairy-tale castle and there was no such thing as a fairy-tale ending, but sometimes you could threaten to kick the handsome prince in the ham-and-eggs.
To the truly ethical man, all of life is sacred, including forms of life that from the human point of view may seem lower than ours.
There is no mode of action, no form of emotion, that we do not share with the lower animals. It is only by language that we rise above them.
Your heart is like the ocean, mysterious and dark.
Most of black America is in housing projects, without jobs, living on welfare. And this is not the case in 'The Cosby Show,' because all the values in that household are strictly what I would call white American values.
Outside of that single fatality of death, everything, joy or happiness, is liberty.
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