Love consists in leaving the loved one space to be themselves while providing the security within which that self may flourish.
Tony JudtRead
Words can make the illness a subject I can master, and not one that one simply emotes over.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Words have the power to help us understand and gain control over difficult emotions.
In this quote, Tony Judt expresses the idea that by articulating our experiences and emotions through words, we can better comprehend and manage challenging situations, such as illness. Rather than letting illness define us or overwhelm us emotionally, we can use language as a tool to create distance and mastery over our feelings, transforming them into something we can discuss and reflect upon thoughtfully.
Themes
WordsIllnessMasteryEmotionsUnderstanding
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about mental health, one might use this quote to highlight the importance of expressing feelings.
More from Tony Judt
All quotes βIf active or concerned citizens forfeit politics, they thereby abandon their society to its most mediocre and venal public servants
Tony JudtRead
Obviously a primary liberal conviction is that we should be tolerant of other peoples' convictions. But if we believe in something, we had better find ways to say so convincingly.
Tony JudtRead
Social democracy does not represent an ideal future; it does not even represent the ideal past.
Tony JudtRead
What I am against is false optimism: the notion either that things have to go well, or else that they tend to, or else that the default condition of historical trajectories is characteristically beneficial in the long-run.
Tony JudtRead
I'm not sure I've learned anything new about life; but I've had to think harder about death and what comes after for other people.
Tony JudtRead
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The Middle Ages burned its heretics and the modern age threatens them with atom bombs.
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Ah! the clock is always slow; it is later than you think.
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In war, the moral is to the physical as three is to one.
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