It seems like suffering's the only time we can see what's essential. If peace ever comes back I'm making a vow: I'll design myself special glasses. They'll block out whether people are fat or thin or beautiful or weird-looking, whether they have pimples or birthmarks or different coloured skin. They'll do everything suffering's done for us, but without the pain. I'm going to wear those glasses for the rest of my life.
Interpretation
Suffering can reveal the true essence of life beyond superficial judgments based on appearance.
In this quote, John Marsden reflects on how suffering has a unique ability to strip away the trivial and superficial aspects of life, allowing us to see what is truly important. He expresses a desire to carry this perspective forward, symbolized by the idea of wearing 'special glasses' that help focus on essential qualities rather than outward appearances, emphasizing a vision of acceptance and understanding devoid of pain.
In practice
During a motivational speech about resilience, one might use this quote to illustrate how challenges can enhance our perspective.
So I found myself telling my own stories. It was strange: as I did it I realised how much we get shaped by our stories. It's like the stories of our lives make us the people we are. If someone had no stories, they wouldn't be human, wouldn't exist. And if my stories had been different I wouldn't be the person I am.
There are some things that once you've lost, you never get back. Innocence is one. Love is another. I guess childhood is a third.
My whole life, I never spoke a single-word.
I do not pray. . . . I do not expect God to single me out and grant me advantages over my fellow men. . . . Prayer seems to me a cry of weakness, and an attempt to avoid, by trickery, the rules of the game as laid down. I do not choose to admit weakness. I accept the challenge of responsibility.
Half of your power lies in your sameness with others. The other half lies in your uniqueness.
I had a vision with which I might have saved my people, but I had not the strength to do it.
If we can't face our losses, we can't be present either fully to everything that is. When people have cut off or not made peace with some part of themselves, they miss out on other aspects of life.
Positive and negative emotions cannot occupy the mind at the same time. One or the other must dominate. It is your responsibility to make sure that positive emotions constitute the dominating influence of your mind. Here the law of HABIT will come to your aid. Form the habit of applying and using the positive emotions! Eventually, they will dominate your mind so completely, that the negatives cannot enter it.
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