Like my mother, I was always saying, 'I'll fix my life one day.' It became clear when I saw her die without fulfilling her dreams that my time was now or maybe never.
I had a calling inside of me. I had a sense that when I was going through experiences like living on the streets, losing my parents to AIDS, just having my whole world turned upside-down, there was this feeling inside of me like I was meant for something greater.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects the inner drive and resilience one feels amidst hardship, suggesting that struggles can lead to a greater purpose.
Liz Murray's quote expresses the profound sense of destiny and purpose that can arise even in the face of immense difficulties. Despite experiencing homelessness and losing her parents to AIDS, she felt an inner calling that motivated her to seek a greater life for herself. This highlights the human spirit's ability to find meaning and hope in suffering, inspiring others to pursue their own paths toward fulfillment regardless of their circumstances.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
During a motivational speech for at-risk youth, this quote can encourage them to see their struggles as a pathway to greater opportunities.
More from Liz Murray
All quotes →In the years ahead of me, I learned that the world is actually filled with people ready to tell you how likely something is, and what it means to be realistic. But what I have also learned is that no one, no one truly knows what is possible until they go and do it.
I thought, 'Let's make it a check list. What if I got my education even though I lost my mother, even though my dad is in a shelter?' and looking at these things as hurdles to go over. I could inspire myself.
People are surprised by the poverty and think that I wasn't cared for. But that wasn't the case - I was deeply loved.
Similar quotes
Go forth in confidence and go forth in peace. For there are angels to your left and angels to your right; angels in front of you and angels behind you; angels above you and angels below. You are loved, and you are not alone.
I know this world is far from perfect. I am not the type to mistake a streetlight for the moon. I know our wounds are deep as the Atlantic. But every ocean has a shoreline and every shoreline has a tide that is constantly returning to wake the songbirds in our hands, to wake the music in our bones, to place one fearless kiss on the mouth of that new born river that has to run through the center of our hearts to find its way home.
Miracles happen quietly every day - in an operating room, on a stormy sea, in the sudden appearance of a road side stranger. They are rarely tallied. No one keeps score.
There is much that is difficult and challenging in the world today, my brothers and sisters, but there is also much that is good and uplifting. As we declare in our thirteenth article of faith, 'If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.' May we ever continue to do so.
I don't think there's anything better you can do in this world than bring light wherever you go.
As young people, you want to see people who in some way look like you to some degree, because it makes it a little easier for you to aspire to take on the qualities of those people.