We wait till now? Now, when we're old men, we get to be brave?
Ernest GainesRead
...my heart may have been in it but my soul was not.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects the idea of being emotionally involved but lacking deeper commitment or passion.
In this quote, Ernest Gaines speaks to the conflict between one's emotional engagement and true essence or authenticity. It suggests that while one may feel compelled or invested at a surface level, there may be a disconnect at a deeper, spiritual level, highlighting the importance of aligning one's actions with their true self and values.
Themes
HeartSoulAuthenticityCommitmentEmotion
In practice
Example use cases
During a discussion about the importance of sincerity in relationships.
More from Ernest Gaines
All quotes βI was raised by a lady that was crippled all her life but she did everything for me and she raised me. She washed our clothes, cooked our food, she did everything for us. I don't think I ever heard her complain a day in her life. She taught me responsibility towards my brother and sisters and the community.
Ernest GainesRead
Everything's been said, but it needs saying again.
Ernest GainesRead
Question everything. Every stripe, every star, every word spoken. Everything.
Ernest GainesRead
The Six Golden Rules of Writing: Read, read, read, and write, write, write.
Ernest GainesRead
Why is it that, as a culture, we are more comfortable seeing two men holding guns than holding hands?
Ernest GainesRead
Similar quotes
I moved frequently because my dad was in the army, so I was always new in school. I think if you've ever done that, you know what it means to not matter in a room. I think it's a good experience for everyone to have, to feel like they're not noticed, because it teaches you to be empathetic.
Julianne MooreRead
When you see a parent pass, and you literally are there, and you're sitting at that deathbed, man, and you have to tell them to go, it defines life for what it really is.
Viola DavisRead
A truce to philosophy!βLife is before me, and I rush into possession. Hope, glory, love, and blameless ambition are my guides, and my soul knows no dread. What has been, though sweet, is gone; the present is good only because it is about to change, and the to come is all my own.
Mary Wollstonecraft ShelleyRead
When you're on top and you lead the parade, everyone's there throwing lilies and lilac water on your head. But when those parades have gone by and there's a storm in your heart, there are very few people that are going to sit there and listen to you bemoan life.
Sylvester StalloneRead
For what endless years this life will have to go on! He felt, with a kind of horror, his own strong youth and the bounding blood in his veins.
Edith WhartonRead
She was unequal to anyone's wistfulness. She had made too little of her life. Its loneliness shamed her like a crime.
Lorrie MooreRead