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The unending paradox is that we do learn through pain.
Madeleine L'Engle
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Interpretation

What this quote means

We often gain knowledge and insight through our struggles and suffering.

This quote reflects the idea that pain and hardship can serve as powerful teachers in our lives. While experiencing difficult moments can be challenging and undesirable, they often lead to deeper understanding and personal growth, revealing truths and wisdom that we might not grasp in times of comfort. The paradox lies in the fact that such lessons are often born from discomfort, suggesting that growth often occurs in the face of adversity.

Themes

PainLearningGrowthWisdomAdversityStruggle

In practice

Example use cases

In a motivational speech about overcoming obstacles, one might use this quote to emphasize that hardship leads to valuable lessons.

More from Madeleine L'Engle

Truth is what is true, and it's not necessarily factual. Truth and fact are not the same thing. Truth does not contradict or deny facts, but it goes through and beyond facts. This is something that it is very difficult for some people to understand. Truth can be dangerous.
Madeleine L'EngleRead
George MacDonald gives me renewed strength during times of trouble--times when I have seen people tempted to deny God--when he says, "The Son of God suffered unto death, not that men might not suffer, but that their sufferings might be like his.
Madeleine L'EngleRead
If you don't recount your family history, it will be lost. Honor your own stories and tell them too. The tales may not seem very important, but they are what binds families and makes each of us who we are.
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I never want to lose the story-loving child within me, or the adolescent, or the young woman, or the middle-aged one, because all together they help me to be fully alive on this journey, and show me that I must be willing to go where it takes me, even through the valley of the shadow.
Madeleine L'EngleRead
The minute we begin to think we have all the answers, we forget the questions.
Madeleine L'EngleRead
When we believe in the impossible, it becomes possible, and we can do all kinds of extraordinary things.
Madeleine L'EngleRead

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