It's hard to hold the hand of anyone who is reaching for the sky just to surrender
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes the difficulty of supporting someone who is striving for greatness yet feels the pull of giving up.
Leonard Cohen's quote reflects the struggle of being in a relationship or friendship with someone who is ambitious and desires to achieve lofty goals but simultaneously grapples with the temptation to give in to despair. It suggests that while it is commendable to reach for dreams, the journey can be fraught with challenges that may lead one to consider surrendering, making it hard for others to offer support during such turbulent times.
In practice
This quote can be used during a motivational speech to highlight the resilience required in pursuing dreams.
What is most original in a man's nature is often that which is most desperate. Thus new systems are forced on the world by men who simply cannot bear the pain of living with what is. Creators care nothing for their systems except that they be unique. If Hitler had been born in Nazi Germany he wouldn't have been content to enjoy the atmosphere.
I always thought that poetry is the verdict that others give to a certain kind of writing. So to call yourself a poet is a kind of dangerous description. It's for others; it's for others to use.
Be With Me In The Phases Of My Work Because My Brain Feels Like It Has Been Whipped And I Yearn To Make A Small Perfect Thing Which Will Live In Your Morning Like Curious Static Through A President's Elegy Or A Nude Hunchback Acquiring A Tan On The Crowded Oily Beach.
I heard of a man who says words so beautifully that if he only speaks their name women give themselves to him. If I am dumb beside your body while silence blossoms like tumors on our lips it is because I hear a man climb stairs and clear his throat outside our door.
I think what we like about music - and what we like about art in general....is that enterprise that stops our minds from spinning. Because we're always all over the place. A good song, a good lyric is a movie: it will just focus and calm and confer significance on this completely bewildering reality that all of us live in.
Most of the time one is discouraged by the work, but now and again by some grace something stands out and invites you to work on it, to elaborate it or animate it in some way. It's a mysterious process.
Forget like a child any injury done by somebody immediately. Never keep it in the heart. It kindles hatred.
I saw that everything really was written there before me, and that the doors had only been closed before because I hadn't realized that I was the one person in the world with the authority to open them.
Work kills no one, but worry has killed multitudes… Worry not only saps vitality and wastes energy, but it also seriously affects the quality of one's work. It cuts down ability. A man cannot get the highest quality of efficiency into his work when his mind is troubled. The mental faculties must have perfect freedom before they will give out their best. A troubled brain cannot think clearly, vigorously, and logically.
Complexity is acceptable as long as it is intelligible and necessary. We want to avoid needless complications.
We pay a heavy price for our fear of failure. It is a powerful obstacle to growth. It assures the progressive narrowing of the personality and prevents exploration and experimentation. There is no learning without some difficulty and fumbling. If you want to keep on learning, you must keep on risking failure-all your life.
Lighter is the wound foreseen.
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