Listen- all that she was then, all that she is now, those gestures, everything I remember but won't or can't articulate anymore, the perfect words that are somehow made imperfect when used to describe her and all that should remain unsaid about her- it is all unsupported by reason. I know that. But that enigmatic calm that attaches itself to people in the presence of reason- it's something from which I haven't been able to take comfort, not reliably, not since her.
Interpretation
This quote reflects on the profound and often unexplainable feelings one has for someone special.
Elliot Perlman expresses the complexity of emotions associated with a significant person in his life, highlighting how words often fail to capture the essence of those feelings. Despite knowing that reason cannot fully justify or explain these emotions, he acknowledges the comfort that comes from the presence of someone meaningful, which he struggles to find after their absence.
In practice
In a speech about the power of love and loss.
I was one of I think three white girls in my school. So, I was very much an outsider. And plus I was Jewish and all of my friends were black and Baptist because they listen to the coolest music. We were all listening to Ray Charles and what was then called race music.
When I play with my cat, who knows whether she is not amusing herself with me more than I with her.
I assure you. I have no notion of treating men with such respect. That is the way to spoil them.
In a dog's life, some plaster would fall, some cushions would open, some rugs would shred. Like any relationship, this one had its costs. They were costs we came to accept and balance against the joy and amusement and protection and companionship he gave us.
Most quarrels are inevitable at the time; incredible afterwards.
In every bed you will find four persons sleeping together. It is very rare to find a double bed, because then four persons are there overcrowding it. The wife is there and the ego, and the husband is there and the ego - husband is hidden behind his ego, wife is hidden behind her ego, and those two egos go on making love. The real contact never happens.
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