You looking good." "Devil's confusion. He lets me look good long as I feel bad.
Interpretation
This quote highlights the tension between outward appearances and inner feelings, suggesting that looking good may mask underlying struggles.
Toni Morrison's quote reflects on the complexities of self-image and emotional well-being. It suggests that while one may appear 'good' or successful on the outside, this often comes at a cost, possibly masking feelings of suffering or pain. The 'Devil's confusion' implies that this discrepancy can be a trick, where the façade of confidence or attractiveness may lead to deeper issues being overlooked or ignored.
In practice
Using this quote in a motivational speech about authenticity and mental health.
There is a certain kind of peace that is not merely the absence of war. It is larger than that. The peace I am thinking of is not at the mercy of history's rule, nor is it a passive surrender to the status quo. The peace I am thinking of is the dance of an open mind when it engages another equally open one -- an activity that occurs most naturally, most often in the reading/writing world we live in. Accessible as it is, this particular kind of peace warrants vigilance.
What do you say? There really are no words for that. There really aren't. Somebody tries to say, 'I'm sorry, I'm so sorry.' People say that to me. There's no language for it. Sorry doesn't do it. I think you should just hug people and mop their floor or something.
An innocent man is a sin before God. Inhuman and therefore untrustworthy. No man should live without absorbing the sins of his kind, the foul air of his innocence, even if it did wilt rows of angel trumpets and cause them to fall from their vines.
Like friendship, hatred needed more than physical intimacy; it wanted creativity and hard work to sustain itself
One of my kids was born in 1968. There were going to be political difficulties, but they were never going to have that level of hatred and contempt that my brothers and my sister and myself were exposed to.
In a way, her strangeness, her naiveté, her craving for the other half of her equation was the consequence of an idle imagination. Had she paints, or clay, or knew the discipline of the dance, or strings, had she anything to engage her tremendous curiosity and her gift for metaphor, she might have exchanged the restlessness and preoccupation with whim for an activity that provided her with all she yearned for. And like an artist with no art form, she became dangerous.
Put aside your need for a step-by-step manual and instead realize that analogies are your best friend.
For the people who ostensibly wish me well or are worried about my immortal soul, I say I take it kindly.
You know the old adage: Plant an expectation, reap a disappointment.
Keep good company, read good books, love good things and cultivate soul and body as faithfully as you can
Genius is the recovery of childhood at will.
I must congratulate myself, in passing, for never having lost the ability to examine my conscience, never having lost the gift of finding myself wanting & defective. Why fear the criticism of others when you, yourself, are first out of the critical gate? If self-denigration is the race I am the winner, even before the starting gun. Collect the bets.
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