Healing for me is being able to sit next to the butcher and say 'Yes, I’m sitting next to the butcher now,' instead of saying 'there is no butcher'.
Tori AmosRead
We all get intimidated by showing ourselves, for whatever reason, we think, If I really show who I am, and someone goes [pfftt] then it's gonna crush me. Well, it's not gonna crush me. It doesn't crush you if somebody does that- somebody will do that. Many times. And once you accept that that's not why you're doing it, you're doing it because that's your form of expression.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Embracing self-expression over fear of judgment empowers us.
This quote by Tori Amos highlights the fear of vulnerability and judgment that many people face when considering expressing their authentic selves. It encourages individuals to recognize that the fear of being rejected or belittled should not deter them from expressing who they truly are, as self-expression is an essential and valuable aspect of life, regardless of how others may respond.
Themes
Self-ExpressionVulnerabilityFearJudgmentAuthenticity
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can inspire individuals during motivational speeches about embracing their true selves.
More from Tori Amos
All quotes →When you stop putting yourself on the line, and you don't touch your own heart, how do you expect to touch other people?
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If you can't create physical life, you find a life force. If that's in music, that's in music. I started to find this deep, primitive rhythm, and I started to move to it. And I held hands with sorrow, and I danced with her, and we giggled a bit.
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I don't want to sit on the sidelines and not value the gift of being here. Instead of the idea of time ticking away, the grains of sand running out, I try to think of time as giving me another grain of sand, another gift. So time passing is an accumulation, rather than a diminishing.
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I don't mind a dirty girl. But what I find tragic is when we, as women, become not the subject of our own story but someone else's object.
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For many years, I shut down that place inside myself that needed to rage, cry, ask questions and basically just express herself. I made a conscious choice when I put (the song) 'Me and a Gun' on the record not to stay a victim anymore.
Tori AmosRead
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