For it is often the way we look at other people that imprisons them within their own narrowest allegiances. And it is also the way we look at them that may set them free.
Interpretation
Our perceptions shape others' identities and possibilities.
Amin Maalouf's quote suggests that the way we perceive and judge others can confine them to limited roles or identities defined by our narrow perspectives. Conversely, if we view them with empathy and openness, we can empower them to break free from societal constraints and realize their true potential.
In practice
This quote can be used in discussions about social justice and the importance of perspective.
The identity cannot be compartmentalized; it cannot be split in halves or thirds, nor have any clearly defined set of boundaries. I do not have several identities, I only have one, made of all the elements that have shaped its unique proportions.
We are not just visitors on this planet, it belongs to us just as we belong to her, its past is ours, so is its future.
What makes me myself rather than anyone else is the very fact that I am poised between two countries, two or three languages, and several cultural traditions. It is precisely this that defines my identity. Would I exist more authentically if I cut off a part of myself
During my youth, the idea of moving from Lebanon was unthinkable. Then I began to realise I might have to go, like my grandfather, uncles and others who left for America, Egypt, Australia, Cuba.
Let your tears roll tonight, but tomorrow you will start the battle again. What defeats us, always, is just our own sorrow.
A life spent writing has taught me to be wary of words. Those that seem clearest are often the most treacherous.
I hope that people of all faiths will start looking for our too-invisible children who are crying out for help.
One of the most persistent ambiguities that we face is that everybody talks about peace as a goal. However, it does not take sharpest-eyed sophistication to discern that while everbody talks about peace, peace has become practically nobody's business among the power-wielders. Many men cry Peace! Peace! but they refuse to do the things that make for peace.
When a man wantonly destroys one of the works of man we call him a vandal. When he destroys one of the works of god we call him a sportsman.
First and foremost, the monk should own nothing in this world, but he should have as his possessions solitude of the body, modesty of bearing, a modulated tone of voice, and a well-ordered manner of speech. He should be without anxiety as to his food and drink, and should eat in silence.
The writer may very well serve a movement of history as its mouthpiece, but he cannot of course create it.
History can predict nothing except that great changes in human relationships will never come about in the form in which they have been anticipated.
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