Poetry is a street fighter. It has sharp elbows. It can look after itself. Poetry can't be used for manipulation; it's why you never see good poetry in advertising.
David WhyteRead
Lion sounds that have not grown from the mouse may exude naked power... but cannot convey any wisdom or understanding... The initial steps on the path to courageous speech then are the first tentative steps into the parts of us that cannot speak.
Interpretation
True courage in communication comes from understanding our innermost feelings and experiences.
This quote by David Whyte emphasizes that true power in speech derives not just from loudness or forcefulness, but from a deep understanding of oneself. Courageous expression stems from delving into the parts of ourselves that are often unarticulated, where genuine wisdom and connection reside.
In practice
This quote can be used in a public speaking workshop to inspire participants to find their authentic voice.
Poetry is a street fighter. It has sharp elbows. It can look after itself. Poetry can't be used for manipulation; it's why you never see good poetry in advertising.
Poetry is often the art of overhearing yourself say things you didn't know you knew. It is a learned skill to force yourself to articulate your life, your present world or your possibilities for the future.
By definition, poetry works with qualities and dynamics that mainstream society is reluctant to face head-on. It's an interesting phenomenon that by necessity, poetry is just below the radar.
The price of our vitality is the sum of all our fears
The severest test of work today, is not of our strategies, but of our imaginations and identities.
We learn, grow and become compassionate and generous as much through exile as homecoming, as much through loss as gain, as much through giving things away as in receiving what we believe to be our due.
As I got older, I knew my syndrome wasn't going away. It was a hard pill to swallow. I wanted to look like everyone else and blend in, and I couldn't find a way to make that happen. I couldn't blame the doctors or my parents, so I blamed myself.
White fragility is a state in which even a minimum amount of racial stress becomes intolerable, triggering a range of defensive moves.
I am a woman who is a granddaughter of a lady who used to be beaten on the head by her husband, of a mother who went through hell because she was divorced and had to bring up these kids. And I can take 10 men out to lunch and pay the bill, and nobody even thinks twice about it. So don’t mess with me.
Bullies will attack your confidence, but you cannot let them kill your ambition.
To me non-violence has come to represent a panacea for all the evils that surround my people, and, therefore, I am devoting all my energies towards the establishment of a society that should be based on its principles of truth and peace.
It is brave to be involved. To be not fearful to be unresolved.
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