But let us not forget that cities are like human beings. They are born, they go through childhood and adolescence, they grow old, and eventually they die
Elif SafakRead
What iβm saying is, my friends, one ought to be able to let go. If a path does not please us, instead of insisting on going that specific way, of making our selfishness the guide, we ought to forsake. The books we cannot write, the films we cannot shoot, the projects we cannot develop, the jobs we cannot pursue and the people who no longer love us. Being able to let go, at times, is the most beautiful of all!
Interpretation
What this quote means
Letting go of things that no longer serve us can lead to personal growth and happiness.
This quote emphasizes the importance of being able to release attachments to paths, projects, and relationships that no longer bring us joy or fulfillment. Elif Safak suggests that by recognizing when something is not beneficial and choosing to let go, we allow ourselves to embrace new opportunities and experiences, which ultimately leads to personal liberation and beauty in life.
Themes
Let GoChangeAttachmentsGrowthFreedom
In practice
Example use cases
During a motivational speech about resilience and personal growth.
More from Elif Safak
All quotes βI like to question cultural biases wherever I go, and I question Islamophobia as much as I question anti-western sentiment because I think all extremist ideologies are very similar.
Elif SafakRead
Stories cannot demolish frontiers, but they can punch holes in our mental walls, and through those holes we can get a glimpse of the other and sometimes even like what we see.
Elif SafakRead
For me, writing stories is one way of feeling connected to the universe and God.
Elif SafakRead
I write as if I were drunk. It is a process of intuition rather than placing myself above my story like a puppeteer pulling strings. For me, it's a scary, chaotic process over which I have little control. Words demand other words, characters resist me.
Elif SafakRead
I like to borrow a metaphor from the great poet and mystic Rumi who talks about living like a drawing compass. One leg of the compass is static. It is fixed and rooted in a certain spot. Meanwhile, the other leg draws a huge wide circle around the first one, constantly moving. Just like that, one part of my writing is based in Istanbul. It has strong local roots. Yet at the same time the other part travels the whole wide world, feeling connected to several cities, cultures, and peoples.
Elif SafakRead
Similar quotes
If each of us works toward making a sincere effort when we wake up each morning with a renewed commitment and dedication to embracing nonviolence as a lifestyle, this world will become a better place, bringing us ever closer to the Beloved Community of which my father so often spoke.
Bernice KingRead
That's evolution. Evolution's always hard. Hard and bleak. No such thing as happy evolution
Haruki MurakamiRead
History is a process of transformation through conversation. In our efforts to produce change,we often forget how important it is to pay attention to what is being conserved.
Humberto MaturanaRead
I believe that every single one of us, celebrity or not, has a responsibility to get involved in trying to make a difference in the world. Our generation faces many challenges, some of which were passed on to us by the past generations, but it's up to us to find solutions today so that we don't keep passing our problems on.
ShakiraRead
Either the opponents of slavery will arrest the further spread of it and place it where the public mind shall rest in the belief that it is in course of ultimate extinction, or its advocates will push it forward, till it shall become alike lawful in all the States - old as well as new - North as well as South.
Abraham LincolnRead
If you're not adapting to the very rapidly changing environment, if you can't think creatively, you lose big in this society because there are very few jobs for you left.
Robert SternbergRead