I learned: the first lesson of my life: nobody can face the world with his eyes open all the time.
Interpretation
The quote highlights the importance of accepting that one cannot always be fully aware or vigilant in life.
In this quote, Salman Rushdie reflects on the human experience and the limitations inherent in facing reality. He suggests that being constantly alert and aware is not feasible, implying that there are moments when one must let go, close their eyes, or disengage from the harsh realities of life. This serves as a reminder to find balance between awareness and acceptance, as well as to acknowledge the necessity of rest and introspection.
In practice
This quote can be used in a motivational speech about personal growth and resilience.
I've been fascinated by Machiavelli since I was very young. I've always felt that he had a bad rap from history, and that he was actually a person quite unlike what we now think of as Machiavellian. He was a republican. He disliked totalitarian government.
Killing people because you don't like their ideas - it's a bad thing.
faith without doubt is addiction
I am clearly vulnerable to these more passionate and volatile unstable relationships. I am trying to not be so vulnerable.
In India, as elsewhere in our darkening world, religion is the poison in the blood. Where religion intervenes, mere innocence is no excuse. Yet we go on skating around this issue, speaking of religion in the fashionable language of 'respect.' What is there to respect in any of this, or in any of the crimes now being committed almost daily around the world in religion's dreaded name?
Reality is a question of perspective; the further you get from the past, the more concrete and plausible it seems - but as you approach the present, it inevitably seems more and more incredible.
It's important to remember that people are always doing the best they can, including you.
We reap what we sow. We are the makers of our own fate. None else has the blame, none has the praise.
People, unless they're paying attention, tend to confuse fanciness with intelligence or authority.
The prayer that prevails is not the work of lips and fingertips. It is the cry of a broken heart and the travail of a stricken soul.
A man does not possess all the gifts, lest he think that grace is nature.
Filth and old age, I'm sure you will agree, are powerful wardens upon chastity.
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