It is good to have an end to journey towards; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.
Ursula K. Le GuinRead
Having one king, one god, one belief, they can act single-mindedly.
Interpretation
Unity in belief can lead to collective action and purpose.
In this quote, Ursula K. Le Guin suggests that the presence of a single authority or belief system can create a sense of unity among people, allowing them to work together towards a common goal. This can be seen in various contexts, where shared beliefs and values create cohesion and focused direction, influencing the effectiveness of group actions.
In practice
During a team meeting to inspire collaborative efforts.
It is good to have an end to journey towards; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.
In reading a novel, any novel, we have to know perfectly well that the whole thing is nonsense, and then, while reading, believe every word of it. Finally, when we're done with it, we may find - if it's a good novel - that we're a bit different from what we were before we read it, that we have changed a little... But it's very hard to say just what we learned, how we were changed.
Reason is a faculty far larger than mere objective force. When either the political or the scientific discourse announces itself as the voice of reason, it is playing God, and should be spanked and stood in the corner.
The only thing that makes life possible is permanent, intolerable uncertainty; not knowing what comes next.
We read books to find out who we are. What other people, real or imaginary, do and think and feel... is an essential guide to our understanding of what we ourselves are and may become.
When he found that the administrators were upset, he laughed. βDo they expect students not to be anarchists?β he said. βWhat else can the young be? When you are on the bottom, you must organize from the bottom up
In old age our bodies are worn-out instruments, on which the soul tries in vain to play the melodies of youth. But because the instrument has lost its strings, or is out of tune, it does not follow that the musician has lost his skill.
To theology, ... only what it holds sacred is true, whereas to philosophy, only what holds true is sacred.
Men go abroad to wonder at the heights of mountains, at the huge waves of the sea, at the long courses of the rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motions of the stars, and they pass by themselves without wondering.
I can only guess that it made the world he went back to...strangely without meaning. Though he lived in it, though he even enjoyed it, it remained utterly remote. I think it had lost sense for him. In his heart was the reflection of a lovely dream that he could never quite recall.
There will never be any more perfection than there is now.
Fame is but the breath of people, and that often unwholesome.
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