Peace is present when things form part of a whole greater than their sum, as the diverse minerals in the ground collect to become the tree.
Interpretation
Peace arises when individual elements contribute to a greater unity, similar to how minerals collectively support a tree.
In this quote, Antoine De Saint-Exupery suggests that true peace is found in the harmony of diverse parts working together to form a greater whole. Just as the minerals in the ground combine to nourish and support a tree, the interactions and relationships among individuals or elements can create a sense of unity and tranquility that transcends mere addition of individual contributions.
In practice
During a community meeting, I could use this quote to emphasize the importance of collective effort.
Grown-ups love figures... When you tell them you've made a new friend they never ask you any questions about essential matters. They never say to you "What does his voice sound like? What games does he love best? Does he collect butterflies? " Instead they demand "How old is he? How much does he weigh? How much money does his father make? " Only from these figures do they think they have learned anything about him.
Attitude is a paintbrush. It colors everything!
Water, thou hast no taste, no color, no odor; canst not be defined, art relished while ever mysterious. Not necessary to life, but rather life itself, thou fillest us with a gratification that exceeds the delight of the senses.
In those days, I didn't understand anything. I should have judged her according to her actions, not her words. She perfumed my planet and lit up my life. I should never have run away! I ought to have realized the tenderness underlying her silly pretensions. Flowers are so contadictory! But I was too young to know how to love her.
When a mystery is too overpowering, one dare not disobey.
When the body sinks into death, the essence of man is revealed. Man is a knot, a web, a mesh into which relationships are tied. Only those relationships matter. The body is an old crock that nobody will miss. I have never known a man to think of himself when dying. Never.
You can't help the poor by being one of them.
Life is always a problem. The fact that I'm on the radio saying that I don't necessarily see hope does not relieve people, does not relieve my son, does not relieve children, of the responsibility to struggle.
Never do anything against conscience even if the state demands it.
We really are All One....this is the very philosophy that has kept me virtually anonymous in America for fifteen years.
Small wonder our national spirit is husk empty. We have more information but less knowledge. More communication but less community. More goods but less goodwill. More of virtually everything save that which the human spirit requires. So distracted have we become sating this new need or that material appetite, we hardly noticed the departure of happiness
We have this idea in our minds that there's this separation of church and state in America, which I think is a good thing. And we extend that to our politics - not just church and state, but it's also there's a separation of religion and politics. But of course there isn't.
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