The writer is the person who stands outside society, independent of affiliation and independent of influence.
Don DelilloRead
People think about who they are in the stillest hour of the night. I carry this thought, the child's mystery and terror of this thought, I feel this immensity in my soul every second of my life.
Interpretation
In quiet moments, we confront our true selves and the enormity of existence.
This quote by Don Delillo reflects on the introspection that occurs during the stillness of night, a time when individuals are most vulnerable to their thoughts and the profound mysteries of life. The 'child's mystery and terror' evokes the innate fear and wonder we experience in confronting our identity and the vastness of our existence, emphasizing the importance of such contemplations in shaping our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
In practice
During a meditation session, one could reflect on the nature of self with Delillo's words in mind.
The writer is the person who stands outside society, independent of affiliation and independent of influence.
War is the form nostalgia takes when men are hard-pressed to say something good about their country.
American writers ought to stand and live in the margins, and be more dangerous.
For me, writing is a concentrated form of thinking.
I used to think it was possible for an artist to alter the inner life of the culture. Now bomb-makers and gunmen have taken that territory.
[I]n the American soul there is a lonely individual standing in a vast landscape. He is either on a horse or driving a car, depending, and either way he’s carrying a gun. This is one of the essential images in American mythology.
It has often occurred to me that a seeker after truth has to be silent.
A grocer is attracted to his business by a magnetic force as great as the repulsion which renders it odious to artists.
Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather the multitudinous seas incarnadine, making the green one red.
We have this day restored the Sovereign to Whom all men ought to be obedient. He reigns in heaven and from the rising to the setting of the sun, let His kingdom come.
Contradiction itself, far from always being a criterion of error, is sometimes a sign of truth.
Neither technology nor efficiency can acquire more time for you, because time is not a thing you have lost. It is not a thing you ever had.
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