I began writing when I was still in the British Foreign Service, and it was then understood that even if you wrote about butterfly collecting, you used another name.
John Le CarreRead
Gerald Westerby, he told himself. You were present at your birth. You were present at your several marriages and at some of your divorces, and you will certainly be present at your funeral. High time, in our considered view, that you were present at certain other crucial moments in your history.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the importance of being present and aware during significant life events.
This quote reflects on the notion of mindfulness and self-awareness throughout one's life. It suggests that while we may be present during key milestones such as birth, marriage, and death, we often overlook our presence in other important moments that shape our history and identity. It encourages a conscious engagement with life's pivotal experiences rather than merely going through the motions.
Themes
MindfulnessPresenceLife MomentsSelf-AwarenessReflection
In practice
Example use cases
As a graduation speech theme to inspire students to be present and engaged in their future.
More from John Le Carre
All quotes →In every war zone that I've been in, there has been a reality and then there has been the public perception of why the war was being fought. In every crisis, the issues have been far more complex than the public has been allowed to know.
John Le CarreRead
The cat sat on the mat is not a story. The cat sat on the other cat’s mat is a story.
John Le CarreRead
The monsters of our childhood do not fade away, neither are they ever wholly monstrous.
John Le CarreRead
Coming home from very lonely places, all of us go a little mad: whether from great personal success, or just an all-night drive, we are the sole survivors of a world no one else has ever seen.
John Le CarreRead
If I had to put a name to it, I would wish that all my books were entertainments. I think the first thing you've got to do is grab the reader by the ear, and make him sit down and listen. Make him laugh, make him feel. We all want to be entertained at a very high level.
John Le CarreRead
Similar quotes
To put it another way, pain is God's megaphone to rouse a deaf world. Why must it be pain? Why can't he rouse us more gently, with violins or laughter? Because the dream from which we must be wakened, is the dream that all is well.
William NicholsonRead
Those who speak much are blamed, those who speak little are blamed. In this world there are none who are not blamed. Try not to blame.
Gautama BuddhaRead
In bodies moved, the motion is received, increased, diminished, or lost, according to the relations of the quantity of matter and velocity; each diversity is uniformity, each change is constancy.
MontesquieuRead
Actually, I have no regard for money. Aside from its purchasing power, it's completely useless as far as I'm concerned.
Alfred HitchcockRead
There is no mysterious essence we can call a 'place'. Place is change. It is motion killed by the mind, and preserved in the amber of memory.
J. A. BakerRead
I think I should understand that better, if I had it written down: but I can't quite follow it as you say it.
Lewis CarrollRead