A life truly lived constantly burns away veils of illusion, burns away what is no longer relevant, gradually reveals our essence, until, at last, we are strong enough to stand in our naked truth.
Marion WoodmanRead
If you are living for an ideal and driving yourself as hard as you can to be perfect - at your job or as a mother or as a perfect wife - you lose the natural, slow rythmn of life. There's a rushing, trying to attain the ideal; the slower pace of the beat of the earth, the state where you simply are, is forgotten
Interpretation
What this quote means
Striving for perfection can lead to losing sight of the natural pace of life.
Marion Woodman's quote highlights the tension between our pursuit of ideals—whether in work, motherhood, or relationships—and the natural rhythm of life. When we become excessively focused on perfection and achievement, we risk losing the deeper, more meaningful experiences that come from simply being present and embracing the flow of life as it is, rather than how we wish it to be.
Themes
PerfectionIdealNatural RhythmLifePresence
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech about balancing ambition and well-being.
More from Marion Woodman
All quotes →This is your body, your greatest gift, pregnant with wisdom you do not hear, grief you thought was forgotten, and joy you have never known.
Marion WoodmanRead
The more you work with your dreams and your unconscious, and honor it, the more you understand it and it understands you. When you develop a relationship with your psyche this way, you begin to carry that energy into life and your relationships.
Marion WoodmanRead
Similar quotes
Time is the coin of your life. You spend it. Do not allow others to spend it for you.
Carl SandburgRead
At 20, 25, 30, we begin to realise that the possibilities of escape are getting fewer. We have jobs, children, partners, debts. This is the part of us to which literary fiction speaks.
Mark HaddonRead
When my parents were liberated, four years before I was born, they found that the ordinary world outside the camp had been eradicated. There was no more simple meal, no thing was less than extraordinary: a fork, a mattress, a clean shirt, a book. Not to mention such things that can make one weep: an orange, meat and vegetables, hot water. There was no ordinariness to return to, no refuge from the blinding potency of things, an apple screaming its sweet juice.
Anne MichaelsRead
This world would be a whole lot better if we just made an effort to be less horrible to one another. If we took just five minutes to recognize each other's beauty instead of attacking each other for our differences - that's not hard - it's really an easier and better way to live.
Ellen PageRead
And he had a nice home in Ohio with wife, daughter, Christmas tree, two cars, garage, lawn, lawnmower, but he couldn't enjoy any of it because he really wasn't free. It was sadly true.
Jack KerouacRead
I leave this life with no regrets. It was a wonderful life - full and complete with the great loves and great endeavors that make it worth living.
Charles KrauthammerRead