For it is often the way we look at other people that imprisons them within their own narrowest allegiances. And it is also the way we look at them that may set them free.
Interpretation
Our perceptions shape others' identities and possibilities.
Amin Maalouf's quote suggests that the way we perceive and judge others can confine them to limited roles or identities defined by our narrow perspectives. Conversely, if we view them with empathy and openness, we can empower them to break free from societal constraints and realize their true potential.
In practice
This quote can be used in discussions about social justice and the importance of perspective.
The identity cannot be compartmentalized; it cannot be split in halves or thirds, nor have any clearly defined set of boundaries. I do not have several identities, I only have one, made of all the elements that have shaped its unique proportions.
We are not just visitors on this planet, it belongs to us just as we belong to her, its past is ours, so is its future.
What makes me myself rather than anyone else is the very fact that I am poised between two countries, two or three languages, and several cultural traditions. It is precisely this that defines my identity. Would I exist more authentically if I cut off a part of myself
During my youth, the idea of moving from Lebanon was unthinkable. Then I began to realise I might have to go, like my grandfather, uncles and others who left for America, Egypt, Australia, Cuba.
Let your tears roll tonight, but tomorrow you will start the battle again. What defeats us, always, is just our own sorrow.
A life spent writing has taught me to be wary of words. Those that seem clearest are often the most treacherous.
I detest converts almost as much as I do missionaries.
Cities give us collision. 'Tis said, London and New York take the nonsense out of a man.
Which 20% of sources are causing 80% of my problems and unhappiness? Which 20% of sources are resulting in 80% of my desired outcomes and happiness?
The main vice of capitalism is the uneven distribution of prosperity. The main vice of socialism is the even distribution of misery.
Though dreams can be deceiving; like faces are to hearts, they serve for sweet relieving, when fantasy and reality lie too far apart.
We are all the judges and the judged, victims of the casual malice and fantasy of others, and ready sources of fantasy and malice in our turn. And if we are sometimes accused of sins of which we are innocent, are there not also other sins of which we are guilty and of which the world knows nothing?
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