Pain and guilt can't be taken away with the wave of a magic wand. They're the things we carry with us, the things that make us who we are. If we lose them, we lose ourselves. I don't want my pain taken away! I need my pain!
Marriage is a reflection of your life in general: how you treat people, how you argue, how secure you are in your own thoughts. How vehemently do you argue your point of view? With what disdain do you view the other's point of view?
Interpretation
What this quote means
Marriage reflects your overall approach to life and how you treat others.
This quote by William Shatner suggests that the dynamics of a marriage are deeply intertwined with an individual's character and values. It emphasizes that how one interacts with their partner—be it through conflict, affection, or communication—serves as a mirror for their broader relationships and self-awareness. The essence of marriage, according to Shatner, lies in not only the love shared but also in how each partner engages with differing perspectives and treats one another through various circumstances.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
Discussing the importance of communication in relationships during a couple's workshop.
More from William Shatner
All quotes →What have I done? I've blundered my way through life. So I have my picture on the wall. The minute I die, that picture will start to yellow and fade and eventually be gone. Blown in the wind and become part of the molecular structure of something else. These things we see as "success," they're non-accomplishments.
The ability to breathe the air and drink the water will be what the wars will be about from here on in. And it's coming with alarming rapidity.
Don't be afraid of making an ass of yourself. I do it all the time and look what I got.
Has it ever occurred to you that how we deal with death is at least as important as how we deal with life?
Similar quotes
The thing that's between us is fascination, and the fascination resides in our being alike. Whether you're a man or a woman, the fascination resides in finding out that we're alike.
The breakdown of the black community, in order to maintain slavery, began with the breakdown of the black family. Men and women were not legally allowed to get married because you couldn't have that kind of love. It might get in the way of the economics of slavery. Your children could be taken from you and literally sold down the river.
Perhaps the most important thing we bring to another person is the silence in us, not the sort of silence that is filled with unspoken criticism or hard withdrawal. The sort of silence that is a place of refuge, of rest, of acceptance of someone as they are. We are all hungry for this other silence. It is hard to find. In its presence we can remember something beyond the moment, a strength on which to build a life. Silence is a place of great power and healing.
The power of affinity lies in its mystery: the way it stands outside everything logical; you step into a crowded room and see a stranger, and somehow you feel you know her better than you know the friends you came with.
The most congenial social occasions are those ruled by cheerful deference of each for all.
That quiet mutual gaze of a trusting husband and wife is like the first moment of rest or refuge from a great weariness or a great danger-not to be interfered with by speech or action which would distract the sensations from the fresh enjoyment of repose.