In our memories, there is a graveyard where we bury our dead. They all lie there together, the loved ones and the ones we hated, friends and foes and kin, with no distinction among them. We have to mourn every one of them, because our memories have made them as much a part of us as our bones or our skin. If we don't, we've no right to remember anything at all.
Interpretation
This quote reflects on the nature of memory and loss, emphasizing how all our relationships, positive or negative, shape our identity.
In this quote, Steven Brust explores the complex nature of our memories and how they contribute to our sense of self. He suggests that we carry not just the memories of those we loved, but also those we disliked, blurring the lines between friends and foes. Mourning all these relationships is portrayed as essential, as each one profoundly impacts us, making them inseparable from our being. Ignoring this mourning means denying a part of our lived experiences and the memories that form our identity.
In practice
In a eulogy, to reflect on the complexity of relationships in a person's life.
Because here’s the thing: No matter how much one tells stories of magical beasts or impossible worlds, in the end, it is always the world of here and now one is writing about. The better one understands that world, the more powerful the stories will be.
The principle can be established that for a man who does not cheat what he believes to be true must determine his actions.
The influence of each human being on others in this life is a kind of immortality.
A person can only be born in one place. However, he may die several times elsewhere: in the exiles and prisons, and in a homeland transformed by the occupation and oppression into a nightmare.
In truth, I’m not my body, my race, religion, or other beliefs, and neither is anyone else. The real self is infinite and much more powerful-a complete and whole entity that isn’t broken or damaged in any way. The infinite me already contains all the resources I need to navigate through life, because I’m One with Universal energy. In fact, I am Universal energy.
A little while, a moment of rest upon the wind, and another woman shall bear me.
How can you tell when a political ideology has become the equivalent of a religion?
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