I do think it’s only by stopping movement that you can see where to go. And it’s only by stepping out of your life and the world that you can see what you most deeply care about… and find a home.
Interpretation
Taking a pause allows for reflection on one's true desires and values.
In this quote, Pico Iyer emphasizes the importance of occasionally stepping back from the hustle of everyday life to gain clarity. By stopping movement and observing one’s surroundings and feelings, individuals can discover their deeper passions and find their true sense of belonging or 'home'. This reflective process is crucial for personal growth and understanding what truly matters to us.
In practice
In a motivational speech about personal growth.
Quitting, for me, means not giving up, but moving on; changing direction not because something doesn’t agree with you, but because you don’t agree with something. It’s not a complaint, in other words, but a positive choice, and not a stop in one’s journey, but a step in a better direction. Quitting-whether a job or a habit-means taking a turn so as to be sure you’re still moving in the direction of your dreams.
I think one reason, obviously, that I spend so much time in one place is that I've been lucky enough to travel a lot, and now there are other different, invisible trains that are more interesting to me.
I've never meditated in my life. I don't practice yoga nor any religion. I'm a tourist on the realm of stillness.
We travel to open our hearts and eyes and learn more about the world than our newspapers will accommodate.
I'm no Buddhist monk, and I can't say I'm in love with renunciation in itself, or traveling an hour or more to print out an article I've written, or missing out on the N.B.A. Finals. But at some point, I decided that, for me at least, happiness arose out of all I didn't want or need, not all I did.
The one thing perhaps that technology hasn't always given us is a sense of how to make the wisest use of technology.
The quest for certainty blocks the search for meaning. Uncertainty is the very condition to impel man to unfold his powers.
It's not enough to do your best; you must know what to do & then do your best.
The habits of a vigorous mind are born in contending with difficulties.
I never think of myself as wise. I think of myself as possessing a critical intelligence which I intend to allow to operate.
[T]he values to which people cling most stubbornly under inappropriate conditions are those values that were previously the source of their greatest triumphs.
Maybe it's just in America, but it seems that if you're passionate about something, it freaks people out. You're considered bizarre or eccentric. To me, it just means you know who you are.
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