No one's ever completely broken. It's just a matter of how much has to fall apart before the ember of life is exposed to air.
Interpretation
The quote suggests that everyone has an inherent resilience, and even in the darkest times, hope can emerge from struggle.
Charles Eisenstein's quote reflects on the idea that individuals may experience significant hardships that seem to break them, but ultimately, these challenges can unveil their inner strength and vitality. The 'ember of life' symbolizes the enduring spirit within each person, which can be reignited even after difficult periods when they are exposed to new light and possibilities.
In practice
This quote could be used in a motivational speech about overcoming adversity.
When everything is subject to money, then the scarcity of money makes everything scarce, including the basis of human life and happiness. Such is the life of the slave—one whose actions are compelled by threat to survival. Perhaps the deepest indication of our slavery is the monetization of time.
It is quite normal to fear what one most desires. We desire to transcend the Story of the World that has come to enslave us, that indeed is killing the planet. We fear what the end of that story will bring: the demise of much that is familiar.Fear it or not, it is happening already.
There is a vast territory between what we're trying to leave behind, and where we want to go - and we don't have any maps for that territory.
The cynic thinks that he is being practical and that the hopeful person is not. It is actually the other way around. Cynicism is paralyzing, while the naïve person tries what the cynic says is impossible and sometimes succeeds.
The gift economy represents a shift from consumption to contribution, transaction to trust, scarcity to abundance and isolation to community.
Love is the felt experience of connection to another being. An economist says 'more for you is less for me.' But the lover knows that more of you is more for me too. If you love somebody their happiness is your happiness. Their pain is your pain. Your sense of self expands to include other beings. This shift of consciousness is universal in everybody, 99% and 1%.
The dog, who had sounded so ferocious in the winter distances, was a female German Shepherd. She was shivering. Her tail was between her legs. She had been borrowed that morning from a farmer. She had never been to war before. She had no idea what game was being played. Her name was Princess.
Lion sounds that have not grown from the mouse may exude naked power... but cannot convey any wisdom or understanding... The initial steps on the path to courageous speech then are the first tentative steps into the parts of us that cannot speak.
Who would have thought it would be possible to run across Canada on one leg, eh? I wanted to try the impossible and show that it could be done.
If my revelation of having bipolar II has encouraged one person to seek help, then it is worth it. There is no need to suffer silently and there is no shame in seeking help.
Courage isn't the absence of fear, it's just deciding that fear isn't calling the shots anymore
When I started modeling, they tried to pay black models less than they paid Caucasian models. I turned down those jobs because I knew what I was worth.
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