It is good to have an end to journey towards; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.
Ursula K. Le GuinRead
Having one king, one god, one belief, they can act single-mindedly.
Interpretation
Unity in belief can lead to collective action and purpose.
In this quote, Ursula K. Le Guin suggests that the presence of a single authority or belief system can create a sense of unity among people, allowing them to work together towards a common goal. This can be seen in various contexts, where shared beliefs and values create cohesion and focused direction, influencing the effectiveness of group actions.
In practice
During a team meeting to inspire collaborative efforts.
It is good to have an end to journey towards; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.
In reading a novel, any novel, we have to know perfectly well that the whole thing is nonsense, and then, while reading, believe every word of it. Finally, when we're done with it, we may find - if it's a good novel - that we're a bit different from what we were before we read it, that we have changed a little... But it's very hard to say just what we learned, how we were changed.
Reason is a faculty far larger than mere objective force. When either the political or the scientific discourse announces itself as the voice of reason, it is playing God, and should be spanked and stood in the corner.
The only thing that makes life possible is permanent, intolerable uncertainty; not knowing what comes next.
We read books to find out who we are. What other people, real or imaginary, do and think and feel... is an essential guide to our understanding of what we ourselves are and may become.
When he found that the administrators were upset, he laughed. βDo they expect students not to be anarchists?β he said. βWhat else can the young be? When you are on the bottom, you must organize from the bottom up
Human beings, all over the earth, have this curious idea that they ought to believe in a certain way, and can't really get rid of it.
Wherever there is possession of marks, there is fraud ; wherever there is no-possession of no-marks, there is no fraud. Hence the Tathagata is to be seen from no-marks as marks.
The moderation of people in prosperity is the effect of a smooth and composed temper, owing to the calm of their good fortune.
Man sometimes thinks he's been elevated to be the controller, the ruler, but he's not. He's only part of the whole. Man's job is not to exploit, but to oversee, to be a steward. Man has responsibility, not power.
"But when you hear men talking," said Cornelia, "all they ever do is speak ill of women. 'And I don't quite know how they've managed to make this law in their favor, or who exactly it was who gave them a greater license to sin than is allowed to us; and if the fault is common to both sexes (as they can hardly deny), why should the blame not be as well?
Life is a mess. And theology must be lived out in the midst of that mess.
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