There are people of spirit and there are people of passion, both less common than one might think. Rarer still are the people of spirit and passion. But rarest of all is a passionable spirit.
Interpretation
This quote highlights the rarity of individuals who possess both spirit and passion, suggesting that true greatness comes from combining these qualities.
Martin Buber's quote emphasizes the importance of having both spirit and passion in one's approach to life. While many people may have either trait, those who embody both, and particularly a 'passionable spirit', are exceedingly rare. This combination allows for a deeper engagement with life and a more profound impact on the world around them, suggesting that such individuals are uniquely equipped to inspire and lead others.
In practice
In a motivational speech to inspire students to pursue their passions.
When I confront a human being as my Thou and speak the basic word I-Thou to him, then he is no thing among things nor does he consist of things. He is no longer He or She, a dot in the world grid of space and time, nor a condition to be experienced and described, a loose bundle of named qualities. Neighborless and seamless, he is Thou and fills the firmament. Not as if there were nothing but he; but everything else lives in his light.
Play is the exultation of the possible.
There is no room for God in him who is full of himself.
Every person born in this world represents something new, something that never existed before, something original and unique.
It is usual to think of good and evil as two poles, two opposite directions, the antithesis of one another...We must begin by doing away with this convention.
God dwells wherever man lets Him in.
Rise above the deceptions and temptations of the mind. This is your duty. You are born for this only; all other duties are self-created and self-imposed owing to ignorance.
He who knows things, and in fighting puts his knowledge into practice, will win his battles. He who knows them not, nor practices them, will surely be defeated.
I am still learning. (at age 87)
Stressful energy arises when you think some future moment is more important than the present moment, and the doing becomes only a means to an end.
The middle path is the way to wisdom
An ad hominem attack against an individual, not against an idea, is highly flattering. It indicates that the person does not have anything intelligent to say about your message.
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