I realize that if I wait until I am no longer afraid to act, write, speak, be, I'll be sending messages on a Ouija board, cryptic complaints from the other side
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes the importance of overcoming fear to take action in life.
Audre Lorde's quote reflects the idea that waiting for fear to subside before taking action may lead to missed opportunities and regrets. Instead of letting fear dictate our choices, we should act despite it, as delaying action can turn our dreams and desires into unfulfilled messages from the past.
In practice
In a motivational speech to inspire others to pursue their dreams despite their fears.
The fact that we are here and that I speak these words is an attempt to break that silence and bridge some of those differences between us, for it is not difference which immobilizes us, but silence. And there are so many silences to be broken.
There is no thing as a single-issue struggle because we do not live single-issue lives.
There are no new ideas. There are only new ways of making them felt.
I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own.
I am deliberate and afraid of nothing.
There's always someone asking you to underline one piece of yourself - whether it's Black, woman, mother, dyke, teacher, etc. - because that's the piece that they need to key in to. They want to dismiss everything else.
I belong to a nation which over the past centuries has experienced many hardships and reverses. The world reacted with silence or with mere sympathy when Polish frontiers were crossed by invading armies and the sovereign state had to succumb to brutal force.
Violence ravaged my life. I was a victim of hatred, and I have dedicated my life to reversing that hatred.
In sorrow and suffering, go straight to God with confidence, and you will be strengthened, enlightened and instructed.
Recovery isn’t easy, at first. It takes time. It takes more work, sometimes, than you think you’re willing to do. But it is worth every hard day, every tear, every terrified moment. It’s worth it, because the trade-off is this: you let go of your eating disorder, and you get back your life.
I've participated in many demonstrations since I was a child. When I was at medical college, I was fighting King Farouk, then British colonization, against Nasser, against Sadat who pushed me into prison, Mubarak who pushed me into exile. I never stopped.
Courage consists in equality to the problem before us.
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