Feeling important makes one heavy, clumsy and vain. To be a warrior one needs to be light and fluid.
Carlos CastanedaRead
My benefactor told me that my father and mother had lived and died just to have me, and that their own parents had done the same for them. He said that warriors were different in that they shift their assemblage points enough to realize the tremendous price that has been paid for their lives. This shift gives them the respect and awe that their parents never felt for life in general, or for being alive in particular.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on the sacrifices made by previous generations and the deep respect that warriors develop for life because of this awareness.
Carlos Castaneda emphasizes the idea that our existence comes at a significant cost, borne by our ancestors who lived and died for us. In recognizing this tremendous sacrifice, particularly as warriors do, we gain a profound respect for life itself, which contrasts with the often unappreciative attitude that others may hold. This awareness transforms our perception of being alive, instilling in us a sense of honor and responsibility towards our own lives and the lives of those who came before us.
Themes
SacrificeLifeRespectWarriorsAncestorsAwareness
In practice
Example use cases
In a graduation speech, a speaker might use this quote to remind students of the sacrifices made by their families.
More from Carlos Castaneda
All quotes →Only as a warrior can one withstand the path of knowledge. A warrior cannot complain or regret anything. His life is an endless challenge, and challenges cannot possibly be good or bad. Challenges are simply challenges.
Carlos CastanedaRead
It doesn't matter what one reveals or what one keeps to oneself. Everything we do, everything we are, rests on our personal power. If we don't have enough personal power the most magnificent piece of wisdom can be revealed to us and it won't make a damn bit of difference.
Carlos CastanedaRead
Beware of those who weep with realization, for they have realized nothing.
Carlos CastanedaRead
All paths lead nowhere, so it is important to choose a path that has heart.
Carlos CastanedaRead
All paths are the same: they lead nowhere. However, a path without a heart is never enjoyable. On the other hand, a path with heart is easy - it does not make a warrior work at liking it; it makes for a joyful journey; as long as a man follows it, he is one with it.
Carlos CastanedaRead
Similar quotes
The course of a river is almost always disapproved of by the source.
Jean CocteauRead
The point of asylum is not to declare to the world what country you think is the pinnacle of civilization. The point of asylum is to find a country that's both willing and able to protect you from political persecution. In no way is asylum an endorsement of a country's politics, laws, or values.
Glenn GreenwaldRead
What is scary to me is silly to somebody else. CG isn't scary to me. It's like comedy - comedy and horror are quite similar, in that there'll always be somebody who'll say, 'I don't think that was funny.' And it's the same with things that are meant to be scary.
Guillermo Del ToroRead
It is the unseen and the spiritual in people that determines the outward and the actual.
Oswald ChambersRead
My life amounts to no more than one drop in a limitless ocean. Yet what is any ocean, but a multitude of drops?
David MitchellRead
How can a novelist achieve atonement when, with her absolute power of deciding outcomes, she is also God? There is no one, no entity or higher form that she can appeal to, or be reconciled with, or that can forgive her. There is nothing outside her. In her imagination she has set the limits and the terms. No atonement for God, or novelists, even if they are atheists. It was always an impossible task, and that was precisely the point. The attempt was all.
Ian McewanRead