I'm not a bit changed - not really. I'm only just pruned down and branched out. The real me - back here - is just the same.
Interpretation
The quote reflects the idea that personal growth doesn't change one's core self, but rather refines and expands it.
Lucy Maud Montgomery's quote expresses the notion that while one may go through changes and growth in life, the essential self remains intact. Being 'pruned down' suggests removing extraneous traits or experiences that no longer serve us, while 'branched out' signifies the exploration of new aspects, ultimately leading to a fuller realization of one's true identity. This highlights the beauty of personal evolution without losing the core essence of who we are.
In practice
During a life coaching session to emphasize the continuous journey of self-improvement.
A broken heart in real life isn't half as dreadful as it is in books. It's a good deal like a bad tooth, though you won't think THAT a very romantic simile. It takes spells of aching and gives you a sleepless night now and then, but between times it lets you enjoy life and dreams and echoes and peanut candy as if there were nothing the matter with it.
A house isn't a home without the ineffable contentment of a cat with its tail folded about its feet. A cat gives mystery, charm, suggestion.
Gilbert darling, don't let's ever be afraid of things. It's such dreadful slavery. Let's be daring and adventurous and expectant. Let's dance to meet life and all it can bring to us, even if it brings scads of trouble and typhoid and twins!" (Anne to Gilbert)
Youth is not a vanished thing but something that dwells forever in the heart.
I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.
She had dreamed some brilliant dreams during the past winter and now they lay in the dust around her. In her present mood of self-disgust, she could not immediately begin dreaming again. And she discovered that, while solitude with dreams is glorious, solitude without them has few charms.
If God is the DJ, then Life is the dance floor; Love is the rhythm and You are the music.
Duck, big brother! Here comes another day!
I was shy for several years in my early days in Hollywood until I figured out that no one really gave a damn if I was shy or not, and I got over my shyness.
Our lives are songs; God write the words And we set them to music at pleasure; And the song grows glad, or sweet or sad, As we choose to fashion the measure.
Bad things will happen and good things too. Your life will be full of surprises. Miracles happen only where there has been suffering. So taste your grief to the fullest. Don’t try and press it down. Don’t hide from it. Don’t escape. It is life too. It is truth. But it will pass and time will put a strange honey in the bitterness. That’s the way life goes.
He who loves not women, wine, and song Remains a fool his whole life long.
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