What the myths say, is that you have to be the hero of your own life. You're the one who has to take charge of who you are, you're the one who has to take control. And also, you're the one who can bring something to the community.
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes personal responsibility and the importance of taking charge of one's own life while also contributing to the community.
Jeanette Winterson's quote stresses the notion that individuals must view themselves as the protagonists of their own narratives. It encourages self-empowerment, asserting that one has the agency to shape their identity and circumstances, while simultaneously highlighting the vital role they play in enriching their community through their actions and contributions.
In practice
During a motivational speech to inspire students to take charge of their future.
What is remembered is not a deed in stone but a metaphor. Meta = above. Pheren = to carry. That which is carried above the literalness of life. A way of thinking that avoids the problems of gravity. The word won't let me down. The single word that can release me from all that unuttered weight.
Reading things that are relevant to the facts of your life is of limited value. The facts are, after all, only the facts, and the yearning passionate part of you will not be met there. That is why reading ourselves as a fiction as well as fact is so liberating. The wider we read the freer we become.
I have a list of titles that I leave at the [library] desk, because they are bound to be written some day, and it's best to be ahead of the queue.
Woolf wanted to say dangerous things in Orlando but she did not want to say them in the missionary position.
In that house, you will find my heart. You must break in, Henri, and get it back for me.' Was she mad? We had been talking figuratively. Her heart was in her body like mine. I tried to explain this to her, but she took my hand and put it against her chest. Feel for yourself.
History is a string full of knots, the best you can do is admire it, and maybe tie it up a bit more. History is a hammock for swinging and a game for playing.
Life must be lived and curiosity kept alive. One must never, for whatever reason, turn his back on life.
I think your whole life shows in your face and you should be proud of that.
Your whole life passes in front of your eyes before you die. This is called living.
One of the shocks of a 50th birthday is realizing the fundamental fact that your youth is irrevocably over.
Do not say that every day you spend on this earth is a day closer to dying. Every day you spend on this earth is a day closer to finally living.
I heard your song the moment we were born. And years later, it dragged me back from the lake of the half-dead when all I wanted to do was die. Each time someone tried to kill me, it sang its tune and gave me hope.
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