Each day, and the living of it, has to be a conscious creation in which discipline and order are relieved with some play and pure foolishness.
May SartonRead
May we agree that private life is irrelevant? Multiple, mixed, ambiguous at best - out of it we try to fashion the crystal clear, the singular, the absolute, and that is what is relevant; that is what matters.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Private life can be complex and varied, but our goal is to seek clarity and relevance in our expressions and actions.
In this quote, May Sarton highlights the complexity and ambiguity of private life, suggesting that while it can be filled with nuances, what truly matters is our pursuit of clarity and relevance in our public lives. We often attempt to distill our experiences into clear, meaningful expressions that resonate beyond our personal complexities, indicating a desire for connection and understanding amidst the chaos of life.
Themes
Private LifeClarityRelevanceExperienceUnderstanding
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in discussions about the balance between private and public personas.
More from May Sarton
All quotes →Pain can make a whole winter bright, like fever, force us to live deep and hard.
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She became for me an island of light, fun, wisdom where I could run with my discoveries and torments and hopes at any time of day and find welcome.
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Wrinkles here and there seem unimportant compared to the Gestalt of the whole person I have become in this past year.
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Here life goes on, even and monotonous on the surface, full of lightning, of summits and of despair, in its depths. We have now arrived at a stage in life so rich in new perceptions that cannot be transmitted to those at another stage - one feels at the same time full of so much gentleness and so much despair - the enigma of this life grows, grows, drowns one and crushes one, then all of a sudden in a supreme moment of light one becomes aware of the sacred.
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I think of the trees and how simply they let go, let fall the riches of a season, how without grief (it seems) they can let go and go deep into their roots for renewal and sleep.... Imitate the trees. Learn to lose in order to recover, and remember that nothing stays the same for long, not even pain, psychic pain. Sit it out. Let it all pass. Let it go.
May SartonRead
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