We never think that our mothers will die. It was like suddenly an abyss opened at my feet - I was standing on nothing. It was the strangest thing. Her passing away ripped the solidity out of the world.
Interpretation
This quote reflects the shock and emptiness that accompanies the loss of a mother.
Ben Okri's quote captures the profound sense of loss and disorientation that can arise from the death of a loved one, particularly a mother. It expresses how such a loss can shatter our perception of stability and leave us feeling as though we are standing on unstable ground, highlighting the deep emotional impact of losing someone who plays a foundational role in our lives.
In practice
This quote can be shared during a memorial service to express the feelings of loss.
One human life is deeper than the ocean. Strange fishes and sea-monsters and mighty plants live in the rock-bed of our spirits. The whole of human history is an undiscovered continent deep in our souls. There are dolphins, plants that dream, magic birds inside us. The sky is inside us. The earth is in us.
Our time here is magic! It's the only space you have to realize whatever it is that is beautiful, whatever is true, whatever is great, whatever is potential, whatever is rare, whatever is unique, in. It's the only space.
Don't despair too much if you see beautiful things destroyed, if you see them perish. Because the best things are always growing in secret.
I began my writing life as a poet, so poetry has always been fundamental. I evolved from poetry to journalism to stories to novels. But poetry was always there.
The acknowledged legislators of the world take the world as given. They dislike mysteries, for mysteries cannot be coded, or legislated, and wonder cannot be made into law. And so these legislators police the accepted frontiers of things.
We can still astonish the gods in humanity_x000D_ _x000D_ And be the stuff of future legends,_x000D_ _x000D_ If we but dare to be real,_x000D_ _x000D_ And have the courage to see_x000D_ _x000D_ That this is the time to dream_x000D_ _x000D_ The best dream of them all.
Grown up, and that is a terribly hard thing to do. It is much easier to skip it and go from one childhood to another.
The modern mocha is a bittersweet concoction of imperialism, genocide, invention, and consumerism served with whipped cream on top
Time flies when you're having fun, and I've been having fun for the last thirty years._x000D_ _x000D_ Reflecting on the upcoming 30th anniversary of Apollo 11.
You're only here for a short visit. Don't hurry, don't worry. And be sure to smell the flowers along the way.
I don't think I'll ever act again. I have so many wonderful memories, but those days are over.
I know that pain is the most important thing in the universes. Greater than survival, greater than love, greater even than the beauty it brings about. For without pain, there can be no pleasure. Without sadness, there can be no happiness. Without misery there can be no beauty. And without these, life is endless, hopeless, doomed and damned. Adult. You have become adult.
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