You can't quantify human pain the way you can measure out sugar. Death comes one individual at a time.
Yann MartelRead
The lower you are, the higher your mind will want to soar. It was natural that, bereft and desperate as I was, in the throes of unremitting suffering. I should turn to God
Interpretation
What this quote means
In times of deep despair, our thoughts and aspirations often reach for a higher purpose or understanding.
This quote reflects the idea that during our lowest moments, when we feel most lost and suffering, it is natural for our minds to seek elevation and hope. In the face of desperation, individuals may turn to spirituality or a higher power as a source of solace and inspiration, suggesting that pain can lead to a quest for deeper meaning in life.
Themes
SufferingHopeSpiritualityDesperationElevation
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about resilience, one might say, 'Remember, the lower you are, the higher your mind will want to soar.'
More from Yann Martel
All quotes →Come aboard if your destination is oblivion- it should be our next stop. We can sit together. You can have the window seat if you want. But it's a sad view.
Yann MartelRead
Fiction and nonfiction are not so easily divided. Fiction may not be real, but it's true; it goes beyond the garland of facts to get to emotional and psychological truths.
Yann MartelRead
The moon was a sharply defined crescent and the sky was perfectly clear. The stars shone with such fierce, contained brilliance that it seemed absurd to call the night dark.
Yann MartelRead
I thought they were helping me. I was so full of trust in them that I felt grateful as they carried me in the air. Only when they threw me overboard did I begin to have doubts.
Yann MartelRead
Art is a gift: you create and then you give away. How readers receive that gift is their business. If they hate it, that’s their response to it. Others respond by liking it. Either way, that is their interaction with the book, which is no longer mine.
Yann MartelRead
Similar quotes
If the Lord should give you power to raise the dead, He would give much less than He does when he bestows suffering. By miracles you would make yourself debtor to Him, while by suffering He may become debtor to you. And even if sufferings had no other reward than being able to bear something for that God who loves you, is not this a great reward and a sufficient remuneration? Whoever loves, understands what I say.
Saint John ChrysostomRead
Self respect is something that can't be killed. The worst thing is to kill a man's pretense at it.
Ayn RandRead
The greatest minds, as they are capable of the highest excellencies, are open likewise to the greatest aberrations; and those who travel very slowly may yet make far greater progress, provided they keep always to the straight road, than those who, while they run, forsake it.
Rene DescartesRead
In a futile attempt to erase our past, we deprive the community of our healing gift. If we conceal our wounds out of fear and shame, our inner darkness can neither be illuminated nor become a light for others.
Brennan ManningRead
The mind of one meditating on a single object becomes one-pointed. And one-pointedness of mind leads to abidance in the self. Real attainment is to be fully conscious, to be aware of surroundings and the people around, to move among them all, but not to merge consciousness in the environment. One should remain in inner independent awareness.
Ramana MaharshiRead
When you accept what is, you are grateful for whatever situation arises.
Eckhart TolleRead