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Every one of us is called upon, perhaps many times, to start a new life. A frightening diagnosis, a marriage, a move, loss of a job...And onward full-tilt we go, pitched and wrecked and absurdly resolute, driven in spite of everything to make good on a new shore. To be hopeful, to embrace one possibility after another--that is surely the basic instinct...Crying out: High tide! Time to move out into the glorious debris. Time to take this life for what it is.
Barbara Kingsolver
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Life constantly presents us with opportunities to start anew, even amidst challenges.

This quote emphasizes the inevitability of change in our lives, highlighting how we are often faced with situations that force us to begin again. Despite the fears and uncertainties that accompany such changes, there is a fundamental instinct within us that drives us to embrace new possibilities and take action, showcasing our resilience and hope in the face of adversity.

Themes

ChangeNew BeginningsResilienceHopePossibilityAdversity

In practice

Example use cases

In a motivational speech about overcoming challenges.

More from Barbara Kingsolver

Sadness is more or less like a head cold - with patience, it passes. Depression is like cancer.
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Children can be your heartache. But that doesn't matter, you have to go on and have them . . . it works out.
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I'm of a fearsome mind to throw my arms around every living librarian who crosses my path, on behalf of the souls they never knew they saved.
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I did it to win love, and to prove myself capable. Not to move mountains. In my opinions, mountains don't move. They only look changed when you look down on them from great height.
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Memory is a complicated thing, a relative to truth, but not its twin.
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Empathy is really the opposite of spiritual meanness. It's the capacity to understand that every war is both won and lost. And that someone else's pain is as meaningful as your own.
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