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.
Don't ever think I fell for you, or fell over you. I didn't fall in love, I rose in it.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes a conscious choice and elevation in love rather than a passive experience of falling.
Toni Morrison's quote suggests that love is not something that happens to us uncontrollably or through chance; rather, it is a state that we actively choose to rise into. This perspective highlights the empowerment involved in love, as it requires effort, intention, and a commitment to grow together with another person, rather than suggesting a vulnerability associated with the idea of 'falling' in love.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
During a wedding speech, you might say, 'As Toni Morrison beautifully put it, I didn't fall in love, I rose in it,' to emphasize the couple's active journey together.
More from Toni Morrison
All quotes βYou looking good." "Devil's confusion. He lets me look good long as I feel bad.
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.
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.
Like friendship, hatred needed more than physical intimacy; it wanted creativity and hard work to sustain itself
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.
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MY river runs to thee: Blue sea, wilt welcome me? My river waits reply. Oh sea, look graciously! I βll fetch thee brooks From spotted nooks,β Say, sea, Take me!
We are here to love, not to judge. I'd been blaming and raging. I certainly wasn't loving my daughter that afternoon as God loves me. God's love doesn't insist on perfection or even good common sense. Why then should I demand more of those I love? With this tiny change in perspective I began to see the need for correction wasn't in my daughter, but in me.
Hell is the inability to love.