When he thought of his history, what resonated with him now was not all that he had suffered but the divine love that he believed had intervened to save him.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes finding strength through the belief in divine love rather than focusing on past suffering.
In this quote, Laura Hillenbrand reflects on how one's perception of their history can shift from a focus on the hardships endured to an appreciation for the positive forces, such as divine love, that contribute to personal salvation and resilience. It speaks to the transformative power of love and belief, suggesting that what truly defines us is not merely our suffering but the help and support we receive along the way.
In practice
A speaker reflecting on personal growth at a motivational seminar.
Every day after lunch when I was writing my first book, I'd nibble a square of fine chocolate and meditate on all that had gone into its creation: the sun and rain that spilled on the cocoa plant, the soil that nourished it, the hands that picked the beans, and so on. My taste of chocolate became a lesson on the interconnectedness of things, and the infinite blessings for which I am grateful.
I identified in a very deep way with the individuals I was writing about because the theme that runs through this story is of extraordinary hardship and the will to overcome it.
Without dignity, identity is erased.
It's easy to talk to a horse if you understand his language. Horses stay the same from the day they are born until the day they die. They are only changed by the way people treat them.
Most people, when they hear the disease name, it's all they know about it. It sounds so mild. When I first was sick, for the first 10 years or so, I was dismissed. I was ridiculed and told I was lazy. It was a joke.
The paradox of vengefulness is that it makes men dependent upon those who have harmed them, believing that their release from pain will come only when their tormentors suffer.
I cannot save the world, that's not what I'm trying to do. I guess I'm just trying to walk the walk and be an example to those that want it. Not everybody does, but if Mary J Blige can come out of that same hole you were in, then you can do it too - that's my goal: to do that without saying it, but actually live it.
Here above the farms and ranches of the Great Plains aviation lives up to the promise that inspired dreamers through the ages. Here you are truly separate from the earth, at least for a little while, removed from the cares and concerns that occupy you on the ground. This separation from the earth is more than symbolic, more than a physical removal - it has an emotional dimension as tangible as the wood, fabric, and steel that has transported you aloft.
O that my tongue were in the thunder's mouth! Then with passion would I shake the world.
There wasn't much as a kid that inspired me in what I did as an adult, but I was always very interested in what motivates people, and in telling stories and building things.
We fly; we dream in darkness; we devour heaven in bites too small to be measured.
Making it through the ceiling to the other side was simply a matter of running on a path created by every other woman's footprints.
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