Jump off. You are a protected individual. Do not fear.
Henry MillerRead
One can see now how the idea of heaven takes hold of men's consciousness, how it gains ground even when all the props have been knocked from under it. There must be another world beside this swamp in which everything is dumped pell-mell. It's hard to imagine what it can be like, this heaven that men dream about.
Interpretation
The quote reflects on humanity's enduring hope for a better existence beyond the struggles of life.
Henry Miller's quote delves into the human consciousness and the persistent yearning for a transcendent reality, often referred to as heaven. It suggests that even in a chaotic world filled with struggles and despair, the dream of a serene and perfect existence continues to thrive within the human spirit, highlighting our innate desire for hope and meaning beyond our current circumstances.
In practice
In a speech about overcoming adversity, one might use this quote to illustrate the idea of hope.
Jump off. You are a protected individual. Do not fear.
I saw through to the last sign and symbol, but I could not read her face. I could see only the eyes shining through, huge, fleshy-like luminous beasts, as though I were swimming behind them in the electric effluvia of her incandescent vision.
The essential thing is to WANT to sing. This then is a song. I am singing.
Great God! What have I turned into? What right have you people to clutter up my life, steal my time, probe my soul, suckle my thoughts, have me for your companion, confidant, and information bureau? What do you take me for? Am I an entertainer on salary, required every evening to play an intellectual farce under your stupid noses? Am I a slave, bought and paid for, to crawl on my belly in front of you idlers and lay at your feet all that I do and all that I know?
We are swimming on the face of time and all else has drowned, is drowning, or will drown.
To sing you must first open your mouth. You must have a pair of lungs, and a little knowledge of music. It is not necessary to have an accordion, or a guitar. The essential thing is to want to sing. This then is a song. I am singing.
So we reach into the raging chaos, and we cling to it, and we tell ourselves it has meaning, and that the world is good, and we are not evil, and we will all go home in the end.
If Islam despises Christianity, it has a thousandfold right to do so: Islam at least assumes that it is dealing with men.
What's more valuable - intelligence or consciousness?
I hate American simplicity. I glory in the piling up of complications of every sort. If I could pronounce the name James in any different or more elaborate way I should be in favor of doing it.
We still insist, by and large, in thinking that we can understand China by simply drawing on Western experience, looking at it through Western eyes, using Western concepts. If you want to know why we unerringly seem to get China wrong... this is the reason.
You know that you are. Don't burden yourself with names, just be. Any name or shape you give yourself obscures your real nature.
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