Faith consists in being vitally concerned with that ultimate reality to which I give the symbolical name of God. Whoever reflects earnestly on the meaning of life is on the verge of an act of faith.
Paul TillichRead
Language... has created the word 'loneliness' to express the pain of being alone. And it has created the word 'solitude' to express the glory of being alone.
Interpretation
The quote highlights the contrasting emotions associated with being alone, distinguishing between loneliness and solitude.
Paul Tillich emphasizes the dual nature of being alone through language, suggesting that while 'loneliness' conveys a sense of pain and isolation, 'solitude' reflects a deeper appreciation for the self and personal space. This differentiation encourages a nuanced understanding of solitude as a potentially positive experience rather than merely a negative one.
In practice
In a discussion about mental health, I might use this quote to illustrate the complexity of being alone.
Faith consists in being vitally concerned with that ultimate reality to which I give the symbolical name of God. Whoever reflects earnestly on the meaning of life is on the verge of an act of faith.
Cruelty towards others is always also cruelty towards ourselves.
He who risks and fails can be forgiven. He who never risks and never fails is a failure in his whole being.
The courage to be is the courage to accept oneself, in spite of being unacceptable.
The citizens of a city are not guilty of the crimes committed in their city; but they are guilty as participants in the destiny of [humanity] as a whole and in the destiny of their city in particular; for their acts in which freedom was united with destiny have contributed to the destiny in which they participate. They are guilty, not of committing the crimes of which their group is accused, but of contributing to the destiny in which these crimes happened.
Wine is like the incarnation--it is both divine and human
What Iβve loved most after you, is myself: that is, my dignity and that strength which made me superior to other men. That Strength was my life. Youβve broken it with a word, so I must die.
Most women I know are priestesses and healers... We are, all of us, sisters of a mysterious order.
Changing laws and changing the political dialogue, while necessary, is insufficient to ensure that bullying stops; to ensure that every young person is supported by their parents and their teachers as they question who they are and they discover who they are regardless of the sexuality.
I've always kinda been a little outcast myself, a little oddball, doin' my thing, my own way. And it's been hard for me to, to be accepted, certainly in the early years of my life.
What I do remember about first grade and that year was that it was very lonely. I didn't have any friends, and I wasn't allowed to go to the cafeteria or play on the playground. What bothered me most was the loneliness in school every day.
Feminine intuition? Is that what you wanted the robot for? You men. Faced with a woman reaching a correct conclusion and unable to accept the fact that she is your equal or superior in intelligence, you invent something called feminine intuition.
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