Many biblical verses are like inkblot tests, revealing more about us than about the text in question.
Harold S. KushnerRead
But at the end, if we are brave enough to love, if we are strong enough to forgive, if we are generous enough to rejoice in another's happiness, and if we are wise enough to know that there is enough love to go around for us all, then we can achieve a fulfillment that no other living creature will ever know, we can reenter paradise.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the virtues of love, forgiveness, generosity, and wisdom as pathways to a deep sense of fulfillment.
Harold S. Kushner's quote conveys that by embodying bravery in love, strength in forgiveness, and generosity in sharing joy with others, along with the wisdom to recognize that love is abundant, we can achieve a unique state of fulfillment akin to paradise. It suggests that true happiness is derived not just from our relationships but from how we engage with and support one another.
Themes
LoveForgivenessGenerosityHappinessFulfillment
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a wedding speech to emphasize the importance of love and support in a marriage.
More from Harold S. Kushner
All quotes βI am quite confident that the most important part of a human being is not his physical body but his nonphysical essence, which some people call soul and others, personality... The nonphysical part cannot die and cannot decay because it's not physical.
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That is why we have to make room in our lives for people who may sometimes disappoint or exasperate us. If we hold our friends to a standard of perfection, or if they do that to us, we will end up far lonelier than we want to be.
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Pain is a part of being alive, and we need to learn that. Pain does not last forever, nor is it necessarily unbeatable, and we need to be taught that.
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Our souls are not hungry for fame, comfort, wealth, or power. Our souls are hungry for meaning, for the sense that we have figured out how to live so that our lives matter.
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We cannot live without the knowledge that someone cares about us.
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