Dreams are shores where the ocean of spirit meets the land of matter. Dreams are beaches where the yet-to-be, the once-were, the will-never-be may walk awhile with the still-are.
David MitchellRead
The Revelation of Sonmi 451 To be is to be perceived, and so to know thyself is only possible through the eyes of the other. The nature of our immortal lives is in the consequences of our words and deeds, that go on and are pushing themselves throughout all time. - Our lives are not our own. From womb to tomb, we are bound to others, past and present, and by each crime and every kindness, we birth our future.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Self-awareness comes from our interactions with others, and our actions shape our shared future.
This quote emphasizes the interconnectedness of human existence, suggesting that our identities and self-understanding are largely formed through relationships with others. It asserts that our actions—both positive and negative—have lasting impacts that extend beyond our individual lives, influencing future generations and the world at large. The idea that 'to be is to be perceived' reinforces the notion that self-knowledge is not merely inward reflection but is also deeply tied to how we are seen and understood by those around us.
Themes
Self-AwarenessInterconnectednessImpactActionsRelationships
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the importance of community, this quote can illustrate how our actions affect others.
More from David Mitchell
All quotes →…and there, in the background, the sky’s sediment had sunk to a place where all the woe of the words ‘I am’ dissolved into blue peace. He said it. ‘The ocean.
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How vulgar, this hankering after immortality, how vain, how false. Composers are merely scribblers of cave paintings. One writes music because winter is eternal and because, if one didn't, the wolves and blizzards would be at one's throat all the sooner.
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. . .my dreams are the single unpredictable factor in my zoned days and nights. Nobody allots them, or censors them. Dreams are all I have ever truly owned.
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My life amounts to no more than one drop in a limitless ocean. Yet what is any ocean, but a multitude of drops?
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Human beings need to watch out for reasonless niceness too. It's never reasonless and its reason's not usually nice.
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