I asked her to look at me and after a few moments - (pause) - after a few moments she did, but the eyes just slits, because of the glare I bent over her to get them in the shadow and they opened. (Pause. Low) Let me in.
Samuel BeckettRead
If you don't know where you are currently standing, you're dead.
Interpretation
Awareness of oneβs current situation is essential for growth and survival.
This quote by Samuel Beckett emphasizes the importance of self-awareness and understanding one's present circumstances. Being unaware of where one stands can lead to stagnation or failure to adapt, which is metaphorically portrayed as a state of being 'dead'. It suggests that an honest assessment of our situation is crucial for making informed decisions and moving forward in life.
In practice
This quote can be used by a motivational speaker to emphasize the importance of self-reflection.
I asked her to look at me and after a few moments - (pause) - after a few moments she did, but the eyes just slits, because of the glare I bent over her to get them in the shadow and they opened. (Pause. Low) Let me in.
Nothing happens. Nobody comes, nobody goes. It's awful.
I shall state silences more competently than ever a better man spangled the butterflies of vertigo.
And what I have, what I am, is enough, was always enough for me, and as far as my dear little sweet little future is concerned I have no qualms, I have a good time coming.
I love order. It's my dream. A world where all would be silent and still, and each thing in its last place, under the last dust.
We lose our hair, our teeth! Our bloom, our ideals.
To kill a man will be considered as disgusting [in the twentieth century] as we in this day consider it disgusting to eat one.
No battle is ever won ... victory is an illusion of philosophers and fools.
The worst thing you want is a willy-nilly judge who is swayed by the political whims of the era or the time. What you want is a judge who is thinking about what he or she is doing and is thinking about it in a principled way.
If Christianity is really true, then it involves the whole man, including his intellect and creativeness. Christianity is not just 'dogmatically' true or 'doctrinally' true. Rather, it is true to what is there, true in the whole area of the whole man in all of life.
I don't get my authority from this preexisting paradigm which is quite narrow and only serves a few people. I look elsewhere for alternatives that might be of service to humanity.
The fact that the underlying laws of physics are deterministic and impersonal does not mean that at the human level we can't talk about ideas about reasons and goals and purposes and free will.
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