I'm not a bit changed - not really. I'm only just pruned down and branched out. The real me - back here - is just the same.
Interpretation
The quote reflects the idea that personal growth doesn't change one's core self, but rather refines and expands it.
Lucy Maud Montgomery's quote expresses the notion that while one may go through changes and growth in life, the essential self remains intact. Being 'pruned down' suggests removing extraneous traits or experiences that no longer serve us, while 'branched out' signifies the exploration of new aspects, ultimately leading to a fuller realization of one's true identity. This highlights the beauty of personal evolution without losing the core essence of who we are.
In practice
During a life coaching session to emphasize the continuous journey of self-improvement.
A broken heart in real life isn't half as dreadful as it is in books. It's a good deal like a bad tooth, though you won't think THAT a very romantic simile. It takes spells of aching and gives you a sleepless night now and then, but between times it lets you enjoy life and dreams and echoes and peanut candy as if there were nothing the matter with it.
A house isn't a home without the ineffable contentment of a cat with its tail folded about its feet. A cat gives mystery, charm, suggestion.
Gilbert darling, don't let's ever be afraid of things. It's such dreadful slavery. Let's be daring and adventurous and expectant. Let's dance to meet life and all it can bring to us, even if it brings scads of trouble and typhoid and twins!" (Anne to Gilbert)
Youth is not a vanished thing but something that dwells forever in the heart.
I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.
She had dreamed some brilliant dreams during the past winter and now they lay in the dust around her. In her present mood of self-disgust, she could not immediately begin dreaming again. And she discovered that, while solitude with dreams is glorious, solitude without them has few charms.
I beg you to believe that life is not a process, it's a drama
Your ups and downs in sports, I think they are as normal as daily life: One day you wake up and feel great, the next day you wake up and feel maybe less great.
We all live inside bodies that will deteriorate. But when you look at human beings, they're capable of very decent things: love, loyalty. When time is running out, they don't care about possessions or status. They want to put things right if they've done wrong.
I don't fear death so much as I fear its prologues: loneliness, decrepitude, pain, debilitation, depression, senility. After a few years of those, I imagine death presents like a holiday at the beach.
I was bullied as a boy - lots of kids are, but hopefully most of us get on with our lives and grow up.
This is the last of earth! I am content.
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