And enough for me that when my hand touched your shoulder, you leaned on me; and when you felt me slip away, you called my name.
Orson Scott CardRead
Welcome to the human race. Nobody controls his own life, Ender.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Life is unpredictable and influenced by various factors beyond one's control.
This quote expresses the idea that humans are part of a larger web of existence, where individual autonomy is limited by external circumstances. It suggests that while we may strive for control over our own lives, many forces—be they social, environmental, or relational—shape our experiences and actions in ways we cannot entirely dictate.
Themes
AutonomyControlLifeExistenceInfluence
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be used in a motivational speech about resilience in the face of life's unpredictability.
More from Orson Scott Card
All quotes →The world is always a democracy in times of flux, and the man with the best voice will win.
Orson Scott CardRead
Never mind that the story had turned out to be lies and foolishness—there was always folks stupid enough to say, Where there's smoke there's fire, when the saying should have been, Where there's scandalous lies there's always malicious believers and spreaders-around, regardless of evidence.
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The lives of all people flow through time, and, regardless of how brutal one moment may be, how filled with grief or pain or fear, time flows through all lives equally.
Orson Scott CardRead
You take a step, then another. That's the journey. But to take a step with your eyes open is not a journey at all, it's a remaking of your own mind.
Orson Scott CardRead
I've had your tears with mine, and you've had mine with yours. I think that's more intimate even than a kiss.
Orson Scott CardRead
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War both needs and generates certain virtues; not the highest, but what may be called the preliminary virtues, as valor, veracity, the spirit of obedience, the habit of discipline. Any of these, and of others like them, when possessed by a nation, and no matter how generated, will give them a military advantage, and make them more likely to stay in the race of nations.
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