Cherish your solitude. Take trains by yourself to places you have never been. Sleep out alone under the stars. Learn how to drive a stick shift. Go so far away that you stop being afraid of not coming back. Say no when you don’t want to do something. Say yes if your instincts are strong, even if everyone around you disagrees. Decide whether you want to be liked or admired. Decide if fitting in is more important than finding out what you’re doing here. Believe in kissing.
Interpretation
Embrace solitude and self-discovery as essential for personal growth and clarity.
Eve Ensler emphasizes the importance of solitude and personal experiences in understanding oneself. By encouraging individuals to embark on solo adventures, make independent choices, and embrace their instincts, she highlights the journey of self-discovery which leads to a deeper understanding of one's desires and purpose in life.
In practice
This quote is perfect for a personal development workshop to inspire attendees to embrace their individuality.
Dancing insists we take up space, and though it has no set direction, we go there together. Dance is dangerous, joyous, sexual, holy, disruptive, and contagious and it breaks the rules. It can happen anywhere, at anytime, with anyone and everyone, and it's free. Dance joins us and pushes us to go further and that is why it's at the center of ONE BILLION RISING.
Before cancer, I was obviously disconnected. I had a tumor the size of a mango inside me and didn't do anything about it. It wasn't like I didn't know something was wrong.
It's a weird thing about the truth: It protects you. What really makes you vulnerable is when you're lying because you're going to get caught. When you tell the truth, there's a strange relief that comes.
Well, the tyranny of masculinity and the tyranny of patriarchy I think has been much more deadly to men than it has to women. It hasn’t killed our hearts. It’s killed men’s hearts. It’s silenced them, it’s cut them off.
Why are women immobile? Because so many feel like they’re waiting for someone to say, "You’re good, you’re pretty, I give you permission."
Security is elusive. It's impossible. We all die. We all get old. We all get sick. People leave us. People change us. Nothing is secure.
The world is governed more by appearance than realities so that it is fully as necessary to seem to know something as to know it.
We must follow the wisdom of the Brundtland Report. We must pursue development that meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.
Acquire wisdom from the story of those who have already passed.
If you give a good thing to the world, then over time your karma will be good, and you'll receive good.
Doubt everything or believe everything: these are two equally convenient strategies. With either we dispense with the need for reflection.
We, their hearts, become fearful just thinking of loved ones who go away forever, or of moments that could have been good but weren't, or of moments that could have been found but were forever hidden in the sands.
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