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I'm always astounded at the way we automatically look at what divides and separates us. We never look at what people have in common.
Doris Lessing
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Interpretation

What this quote means

This quote emphasizes the human tendency to focus on differences rather than commonalities.

Doris Lessing's quote reflects on a fundamental aspect of human interaction, where individuals often gravitate towards identifying divisions and separations rather than recognizing the shared experiences and values that unite them. It calls for a more conscious effort to acknowledge and celebrate what binds people together, promoting understanding and empathy in a world where divisive perspectives can dominate.

Themes

UnityCommonalityDiversityEmpathyCommunication

In practice

Example use cases

In a speech addressing social unity, this quote can remind the audience to focus on shared values.

More from Doris Lessing

I am a person who continually destroys the possibilities of a future because of the numbers of alternative viewpoints I can focus on the present.
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In the writing process, the more the story cooks, the better. The brain works for you even when you are at rest. I find dreams particularly useful. I myself think a great deal before I go to sleep and the details sometimes unfold in the dream.
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Humanity's legacy of stories and storytelling is the most precious we have. All wisdom is in our stories and songs. A story is how we construct our experiences. At the very simplest, it can be: 'He/she was born, lived, died.' Probably that is the template of our stories - a beginning, middle, and end. This structure is in our minds.
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There is a great line of women stretching out behind you into the past, and you have to seek them out and find them in yourself and be conscious of them.
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The World War I, I'm a child of World War I. And I really know about the children of war. Because both my parents were both badly damaged by the war. My father, physically, and both mentally and emotionally. So, I know exactly what it's like to be brought up in an atmosphere of a continual harping on the war.
Doris LessingRead
You should write, first of all, to please yourself. You shouldn't care a damn about anybody else at all. But writing can't be a way of life - the important part of writing is living. You have to live in such a way that your writing emerges from it.
Doris LessingRead

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