Celebration is a confrontation, giving attention to the transcendent meaning of one's actions.
Abraham Joshua HeschelRead
Forfeit your sense of awe, let your conceit diminish your ability to revere, and the universe becomes a market place for you.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote suggests that losing a sense of wonder can reduce one's appreciation for the world, treating it merely as a transactional space.
Abraham Joshua Heschel's quote emphasizes the importance of maintaining a sense of awe and reverence in life. When one allows arrogance or self-importance to overshadow the capacity for appreciation, the world loses its depth and beauty, transforming into a mere marketplace instead of a place full of wonder and significance. This transformation reflects a disconnection from the spiritual and profound aspects of existence.
Themes
AweConceitUniverseReverenceMarketplace
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the importance of humility, I referenced Heschel's thoughts on awe.
More from Abraham Joshua Heschel
All quotes βNormal consciousness is a state of stupor, in which the sensibility to the wholly real and responsiveness to the stimuli of the spirit are reduced. The mystics, knowing that man is involved in a hidden history of the cosmos, endeavor to awake from the drowsiness and apathy and to regain the state of wakefulness for their enchanted souls.
Abraham Joshua HeschelRead
Prayer cannot bring water to parched fields, or mend a broken bridge, or rebuild a ruined city; but prayer can water an arid soul, mend a broken heart, and rebuild a weakened will.
Abraham Joshua HeschelRead
The worship of reason is arrogance and betrays a lack of intelligence. The rejection of reason is cowardice and betrays a lack of faith.
Abraham Joshua HeschelRead
We worship God through our questions.
Abraham Joshua HeschelRead
When religion speaks only in the name of authority rather than with the voice of compassion, its message becomes meaningless.
Abraham Joshua HeschelRead
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