Jump off. You are a protected individual. Do not fear.
Henry MillerRead
Tomorrow you may bring about the destruction of your world. Tomorrow you may sing in Paradise above the smoking ruins of your world-cities. But tonight I would like to think of one man, a lone individual, a man without name or country, a man whom I respect because he has absolutely nothing in common with you - MYSELF. Tonight I shall meditate upon that which I am.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote suggests the importance of self-reflection and individuality amidst the chaos of the world.
Henry Miller's quote emphasizes the significance of introspection and self-awareness, urging us to focus on our inner selves rather than the tumultuous external events that may unfold in the future. He presents a contrast between the potential devastation of the world and the quiet contemplation of one's own identity and existence, underscoring the value of understanding oneself as a solitary figure distinct from societal turmoil.
Themes
Self-ReflectionIdentityIndividualityExistenceIntrospection
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be used during a personal development seminar.
More from Henry Miller
All quotes →I saw through to the last sign and symbol, but I could not read her face. I could see only the eyes shining through, huge, fleshy-like luminous beasts, as though I were swimming behind them in the electric effluvia of her incandescent vision.
Henry MillerRead
The essential thing is to WANT to sing. This then is a song. I am singing.
Henry MillerRead
Great God! What have I turned into? What right have you people to clutter up my life, steal my time, probe my soul, suckle my thoughts, have me for your companion, confidant, and information bureau? What do you take me for? Am I an entertainer on salary, required every evening to play an intellectual farce under your stupid noses? Am I a slave, bought and paid for, to crawl on my belly in front of you idlers and lay at your feet all that I do and all that I know?
Henry MillerRead
We are swimming on the face of time and all else has drowned, is drowning, or will drown.
Henry MillerRead
To sing you must first open your mouth. You must have a pair of lungs, and a little knowledge of music. It is not necessary to have an accordion, or a guitar. The essential thing is to want to sing. This then is a song. I am singing.
Henry MillerRead
Similar quotes
I have always detested any departure from reality, an attitude which I relate to my mother's poor mental health.
Jean PiagetRead
'Memory.' 'Race.' 'Murder.' That's what they say about me. I am an elegiac poet. I have some historical questions, and I'm grappling with ways to make sense of history; why it still haunts us in our most intimate relationships with each other, but also in our political decisions.
Natasha TretheweyRead
How can one take delight in the world unless one flees to it for refuge?
Franz KafkaRead
A dream...I was trying to explain to St. Peter, and was doing it in the German tongue, because I didn't want to be too explicit.
Mark TwainRead
Ubuntu is very difficult to render into a Western language... It is to say, 'My humanity is caught up, is inextricably bound up, in what is yours.'
Desmond TutuRead
For there is but one essential justice which cements society, and one law which establishes this justice. This law is right reason, which is the true rule of all commandments and prohibitions. Whoever neglects this law, whether written or unwritten, is necessarily unjust and wicked.
Marcus Tullius CiceroRead