To be a soulful person means to go against all the pervasive, prove-yourself values of our culture and instead treasure what is unique and internal and valuable in yourself and your own personal evolution.
Jean Shinoda BolenRead
Over the years I have come to believe that life is full of unchosen circumstances, that being human has to do with the evolution of our individual consciousness and with it, responsibilities for choice. Pain and joy both come with life. I believe that how we respond to what happens to us and around us shapes who we become and has to do with the psyche or the soul's growth.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Life is made up of circumstances beyond our control, and our responses to these shape our growth as individuals.
This quote emphasizes the idea that while we cannot choose the events that occur in our lives, we have the power to respond to them. Our responses to both the joyful and painful experiences shape our character and contribute to our personal and spiritual development, reflecting the growth of our consciousness.
Themes
LifeChoicesConsciousnessResponseGrowthResponsibility
In practice
Example use cases
During a leadership seminar discussing how challenges shape character.
More from Jean Shinoda Bolen
All quotes →To know how to choose a path with heart is to learn how to follow intuitive feeling. Logic can tell you superficially where a path might lead to, but it cannot judge whether your heart will be in it.
Jean Shinoda BolenRead
Syncronistic meetings are like mirrors that reflect something of ourselves. If we want to grow spiritually, all we have to do is take a good look. Synchronicity holds the promise that if we want to change inside, the patterns of our external life will change as well.
Jean Shinoda BolenRead
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