Death is the sound of distant thunder at a picnic.
W. H. AudenRead
To pray is to pay attention to something or someone other than oneself. Whenever a man so concentrates his attention - on a landscape, a poem, a geometrical problem, an idol, or the True God - that he completely forgets his own ego and desires, he is praying. The primary task of the schoolteacher is to teach children, in a secular context, the technique of prayer.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Prayer is a way of focusing on something beyond oneself, leading to a deeper understanding and connection with the world.
In this quote, W. H. Auden suggests that the act of prayer transcends traditional religious practices and can be understood as a profound focus on anything outside of oneself that captures one's full attention, whether it's art, nature, or a deeper truth. He emphasizes the importance of teaching this technique in educational settings, allowing individuals, especially children, to learn the value of concentrating on aspects beyond their own personal desires, cultivating a sense of awareness and appreciation for the world around them.
Themes
PrayerAttentionSelflessnessTeachingAwareness
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about mindfulness, one might say, 'As W. H. Auden expresses, 'To pray is to pay attention to something or someone other than oneself.'
More from W. H. Auden
All quotes →That the speech of self-disclosure should be translatable seems to me very odd, but I am convinced that it is. The conclusion that I draw is that the only quality which all human being without exception possess is uniqueness: any characteristic, on the other hand, which one individual can be recognized as having in common with another, like red hair or the English language, implies the existence of other individual qualities which this classification excludes.
W. H. AudenRead
Nobody knows what the cause is, though some pretend they do; it like some hidden assassin waiting to strike at you. Childless women get it, and men when they retire; it as if there had to be some outlet for their foiled creative fire.
W. H. AudenRead
History is, strictly speaking, the study of questions; the study of answers belongs to anthropology and sociology.
W. H. AudenRead
Music is the best means we have of digesting time.
W. H. AudenRead
'Healing,' Papa would tell me, 'is not a science, but the intuitive art of wooing nature.'
W. H. AudenRead
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The sudden hand of Death close up mine eye!
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Slip into the gap, have the desire, detach from the outcome, and let the universe take care of the details.
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Every brain is civilized, Every nerve is analyzed, Everything is criticized when you are in need.
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We live in a society in which it seems that every space, every moment must be 'filled' with initiatives, activity, sound; often there is not even time to listen and dialogue... Let us not be afraid to be silent outside and inside ourselves, so that we are able not only to perceive God's voice, but also the voice of the person next to us, the voices of others.
Pope Benedict XviRead
Man's unique agony as a species consists in his perpetual conflict between the desire to stand out and the need to blend in.
Sydney J. HarrisRead