When I left home after graduating high school, I left as a migrant agricultural worker with a Modern Library edition of Plato in my duffel bag. It sounds kind of crazy, but I loved it. I loved the stuff. Before I knew there was a subject called philosophy, I loved it.
Interpretation
The quote expresses a love for philosophy that transcends formal education, highlighting a passion for learning.
In this quote, Dallas Willard reflects on his journey of self-discovery and the intrinsic love he had for philosophy even before understanding it as a formal subject. By mentioning his background as a migrant agricultural worker, he sheds light on the contrast between his humble beginnings and his intellectual pursuits, suggesting that passion for knowledge can thrive in any circumstance, regardless of one's life situation or educational background.
In practice
In a graduation speech to inspire students to pursue their passions, I might say, 'Remember the words of Dallas Willard, who found love for philosophy even in the most unexpected circumstances.'
The greatest issue facing the world today, with all its heartbreaking needs, is whether those who, by profession or culture, are identified as ‘Christians’ will become disciples – students, apprentices, practitioners – of Jesus Christ, steadily learning from him how to live the life of the Kingdom of the Heavens into every corner of human existence.
The first act of love is always the giving of attention.
So many people would like to have guidance from God because obviously, if you have a word from God, it's the best possible thing. But they don't relate that to life as a whole. Often they want guidance as a way of opting out of the responsibility of making decisions.
What is truly profound is thought to be stupid and trivial, or worse, boring, while what is actually stupid and trivial is thought to be profound. That is what it means to fly upside down.
The basic question 'will I obey Christ 's teaching?' is rarely taken as a serious issue. For example, to take one of Jesus' commands, that is relevant to contemporary life, I don't know of any church that actually teaches a church how to bless people who curse them, yet this is a clear command.
Few people arise in the morning as hungry for God as they are for cornflakes or toast and eggs.
The best time to plan a book is while you're doing the dishes.
I never need to find time to read. When people say to me, ‘Oh, yeah, I love reading. I would love to read, but I just don’t have time,’ I’m thinking, ‘How can you not have time?’ I read when I’m drying my hair. I read in the bath. I read when I’m sitting in the bathroom. Pretty much anywhere I can do the job one-handed, I read.
There is no better way to learn than to teach.
Books, too, begin like the week – with a day of rest in memory of their creation. The preface is their Sunday.
Consequently, the only thing I learned in school was typing. In the old days, people like me who don't have college degrees had a hard time thriving in society. But today, the ability to learn on your own or from your peers has become really easy. I think this change is leading to a fundamental disruption in education. Independent and lifelong learning are really starting to peak - there is an inflection point coming around how people learn.
Kids' hearts are malleable, but once they gel it's hard to get them back the way they were.
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