If you look throughout human history ... the central epiphany of every religious tradition always occurs in the wilderness.
Interpretation
The quote suggests that profound realizations in religious traditions often take place in isolated or natural settings.
John F. Kennedy highlights the significance of wilderness in spiritual experiences throughout history. He implies that the wilderness serves as a backdrop for deep personal insights and revelations within various religious traditions, pointing towards a universal human truth about the importance of solitude and nature in the search for meaning.
In practice
During a meditation retreat, one might share this quote to emphasize the importance of solitude and nature.
The great battleground for the defense and expansion of freedom today is the whole southern half of the globe... the lands of the rising peoples. Their revolution is the greatest in human history. They seek an end to injustice, tyranny and exploitation. More than an end, they seek a beginning.
I had always enjoyed the title of Commander-in-Chief until I was informed ... that the only forces that cannot be transferred from Washington without my express permission are the members of the Marine Corps Band. Those are the only forces I have. I want it announced that we propose to hold the White House against all odds at least for some time to come.
I am talking about genuine peace, the kind of peace that makes life on earth worth living, the kind that enables men and nations to grow and to hope and to build a better life for their children - not merely peace for Americans but peace for all men and women - not merely peace in our time but peace for all time.
I just received the following wire from my generous Daddy; Dear Jack, Don't buy a single vote more than is necessary. I'll be damned if I'm going to pay for a landslide.
Tolerance implies no lack of commitment to one's own beliefs. Rather it condemns the oppression or persecution of others.
Mankind must put an end to war before war puts an end to mankind.
Poverty of goods is easily cured; poverty of soul, impossible.
A minority is only thought of as a minority when it constitutes some kind of threat to the majority, real or imaginary. And no threat is ever quite imaginary.
If we are a metaphor of the universe, the human couple is the metaphor par excellence, the point of intersection of all forces and the seed of all forms. The couple is time recaptured, the return to the time before time.
We lead two lives, and the half of our soul is madness, and half heaven is lit by a black sun. I say I am a man, is the other that hides in me?
We believe that civilization has been created under the pressure of the exigencies of life at the cost of satisfaction of the instincts.
Every island to a child is a treasure island.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.