Don't be afraid..." We need this reassurance. Even for those of us who believe implicitly in angels, to be confronted by one is an awesome thing."
Interpretation
This quote encourages fearlessness in the face of awe-inspiring experiences, reassuring us that such moments are part of our journey.
Madeleine L'Engle's quote speaks to the innate human fear of the unknown and the overwhelming nature of awe-inspiring encounters, even when one possesses firm beliefs. By acknowledging the importance of reassurance, it suggests that while these experiences may challenge our comfort zones, they ultimately lead to growth and understanding.
In practice
In a public speech about facing challenges, this quote can illustrate the importance of embracing awe.
Truth is what is true, and it's not necessarily factual. Truth and fact are not the same thing. Truth does not contradict or deny facts, but it goes through and beyond facts. This is something that it is very difficult for some people to understand. Truth can be dangerous.
George MacDonald gives me renewed strength during times of trouble--times when I have seen people tempted to deny God--when he says, "The Son of God suffered unto death, not that men might not suffer, but that their sufferings might be like his.
If you don't recount your family history, it will be lost. Honor your own stories and tell them too. The tales may not seem very important, but they are what binds families and makes each of us who we are.
I never want to lose the story-loving child within me, or the adolescent, or the young woman, or the middle-aged one, because all together they help me to be fully alive on this journey, and show me that I must be willing to go where it takes me, even through the valley of the shadow.
The minute we begin to think we have all the answers, we forget the questions.
When we believe in the impossible, it becomes possible, and we can do all kinds of extraordinary things.
The woman who follows the crowd will usually believe that I said this.
One way or another, we all have to find what best fosters the flowering of our humanity in this contemporary life, and dedicate ourselves to that.
It's a fool's life, a rogue's life, and a good life if you keep laughing all the way to the grave.
It is terrible to speak well and be wrong.
We tend to disempower ourselves. We tend to believe that we donβt matter. And in the act of taking that idea to ourselves we give everything away to somebody else, to something else.
Haven't you learned yet that I put something more than whisky into my speeches.
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