You see people who are still there doing things but their souls have disappeared so there's no joy in it anymore, so I'm scared of not listening to the part of me that knows when it's time to stop something and start something new.
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes the importance of recognizing when it's time to move on from unfulfilling pursuits to embrace new opportunities.
Simon Amstell reflects on the danger of continuing with activities or commitments that no longer bring joy, highlighting a fear of losing one's essence in the process. He urges listeners to pay attention to their inner voice that signals when it's time to end old patterns and embark on new journeys, advocating for self-awareness and growth in life.
In practice
During a motivational talk about personal growth and transitions, I used this quote to highlight the importance of embracing change.
I felt like there was something wrong with me in my twenties but, when I started doing stand up comedy, I learnt that if you tell the truth it's really funny and people connect to it. So I think if I keep doing that then I'll be happy.
I don't see the point of doing comedy unless it comes from pain.
I think as much as I talk about humour being a defence mechanism, I'm also really grateful that I developed it, because I now have it as a choice, rather than a panic button. I feel like it's there if I want to use it. It's fun.
By saying the thing that I'm most embarrassed about on stage, I end up witnessing the fact that it isn't a problem. People don't usually walk out, when I say the thing that I'm deeply ashamed of.
Where something becomes extremely difficult and unbearable, there we also stand always already quite near its transformation.
We look in our own backyard and say, 'How do we help at-risk families, at risk youth? How do we think through some of the problems affecting the Pacific Northwest and make some change there?'
What is it you want to change? Your hair, your face, your body? Why? For God is in love with all those things and he might weep when they are gone.
All I am certain of right now is that I don't want to go anywhere, and that's not bad for someone who always used to run.
Let not men then in the pride of power, use the same arguments that tyrannic kings and venal ministers have used, and fallaciously assert that women ought to be subjected because she has always been so.... It is time to effect a revolution in female manners - time to restore to them their lost dignity.... It is time to separate unchangeable morals from local manners.
It's time for a new National Anthem. America is divided into two definite divisions. The easy thing to cop out with is sayin' black and white. You can see a black person. But now to get down to the nitty-gritty, it's getting' to be old and young - not the age, but the way of thinking. Old and new, actually... because there's so many even older people that took half their lives to reach a certain point that little kids understand now.
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