Real greatness is often humble, simple, and unobtrusive. It is not easy to trust ourselves and our actions without public affirmation. Some of the greatest works of art and the most important works of peace were created by people who had no need for the limelight. They knew that what they were doing was their call, and they did it with great patience, perseverance, and love.
Interpretation
True greatness lies in humility and simplicity, often without the need for recognition.
Henri Nouwen's quote emphasizes that real greatness is characterized by humility and simplicity, thriving beyond the need for external validation. He notes that many remarkable artists and peace activists worked diligently without seeking the spotlight, driven by their passion and purpose. This suggests that greatness is not about fame, but rather about genuine commitment, intrinsic motivation, and a loving dedication to one's calling.
In practice
During a motivational speech about the importance of selflessness in art.
The Christian leader of the future is called to be completely irrelevant and to stand in this world with nothing to offer but his or her own vulnerable self. God loves us, not because of what we do or accomplish, but because God has created and redeemed us in love.
The immense joy in welcoming back the lost son hides in the immense sorrow that has gone before....our brokenness may appear beautiful, but our brokenness has no other beauty but the beauty that comes from the compassion that surrounds it.
Suffering invites us to place our hurts in larger hands. In Christ we see God suffering β for us. And calling us to share in Godβs suffering love for a hurting world. The small and even overpowering pains of our lives are intimately connected with the greater pains of Christ. Our daily sorrows are anchored in a greater sorrow and therefore a larger hope.
To listen is very hard, because it asks of us so much interior stability that we no longer need to prove ourselves by speeches, arguments, statements or declarations. True listeners no longer have an inner need to make their presence known. They are free to receive, welcome, to accept.
Waiting is a dry desert between where we are and where we want to be. (Finding My Way Home)
Becoming the beloved is pulling the truth revealed to me from above down into the ordinariness of what I am, in fact, thinking of, talking about and doing from hour to hour.
Sir, I do not call a gamester a dishonest man; but I call him an unsociable man, an unprofitable man. Gaming is a mode of transferring property without producing any intermediate good.
The history of thought may be summed up in these words: it is absurd by what it seeks and great by what it finds.
Race doesn't really exist for you because it has never been a barrier. Black folks don't have that choice.
The end move in politics is always to pick up a gun.
Geometry is one and eternal shining in the mind of God. That share in it accorded to men is one of the reasons that Man is the image of God.
The only thing we have to fear on this planet is man.
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