There is my father whispering in my ear, Be still still still. And yet you change everything. What was the marsh like, waiting for the storm before you came and kneeled in the water? It was nothing. Watch after you leave the water, now cold and regretful, miles from home, certain of the belt on your backside, the cold shoulder, the extra chores; watch. Watch the water heal itself of your presence--not to repair injury but to offer itself again should you care to risk another strapping [...].
Interpretation
This quote reflects on the themes of change, regret, and the cyclical nature of existence.
In this quote, Paul Harding explores the relationship between the past and the present, capturing the tension between parental guidance and personal growth. The imagery of water healing after a presence implies that while actions may leave a mark, nature has a way of rejuvenating itself, much like human emotions and relationships that endure through trials and learn to embrace change.
In practice
In a speech about embracing personal growth, one might reference this quote to highlight the importance of learning from the past.
I was ravenous for my child and took to gorging myself in the boneyard, hoping that she might possibly meet me halfway, or just beyond, one night, if only for an instant—step back into her own bare feet, onto the wet grass or fallen leaves or snowy ground of the living Enon, so that we could share just one last human word.
And as the ax bites into the wood, be comforted in the fact that the ache in your heart and the confusion in your soul means that you are still alive, still human, and still open to the beauty of the world, even though you have done nothing to deserve it.
Faithfulness and truth are the most sacred excellences and endowments of the human mind.
Is it freedom to be a slave to the senses, to anger, to jealousies and a hundred other petty things that must occur every day in human life?
By...our readiness to allow arms to be purchased at will and fired at whim; by allowing our movie and television screens to teach our children that the hero is one who masters the art of shooting and the technique of killing...we have created an atmosphere in which violence and hatred have become popular pastimes.
All animals are to be found in men and each of theme exists in some man, sometimes several at the time.
To be whole is to be part;_x000D_ true voyage is return.
It's a lucky man, a very lucky man, who is committed to what he believes, who has stifled intellectual detachment and can relax in the luxury of his emotions - like a tipsy traveller resting for the night at wayside inn.
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