There is no feeling, except the extremes of fear and grief, that does not find relief in music.
T. S. EliotRead
And I will show you something different from either Your shadow at morning striding behind you Or your shadow at evening rising to meet you I will show you fear in a handful of dust
Interpretation
The quote contrasts the light and dark moments of life, revealing the deeper fears that often lie beneath our experiences.
T. S. Eliot's quote reflects on the duality of human existence, represented by the imagery of shadows at different times of day. It suggests that while one may have outward experiences and perceptions (the shadows), there is an underlying reality of fear and uncertainty symbolized by 'a handful of dust'. This encapsulates the transient nature of life and the often ignored anxieties that accompany our journey.
In practice
During a speech about embracing life's uncertainties, one might refer to Eliot's quote to illustrate the journey through fears.
There is no feeling, except the extremes of fear and grief, that does not find relief in music.
Half of the harm that is done in this world is due to people who want to feel important. They don't mean to do harm. But the harm does not interest them.
I am an Anglo-Catholic in religion, a classicist in literature and a royalist in politics.
If you aren't in over your head, how do you know how tall you are?
For I have known them all already, known them all— Have known the evenings, mornings, afternoons, I have measured out my life with coffee spoons.
In the faint moonlight, the grass is singing
Never in his life had occasion to ask himself, "Why are things the way they are?" Why should he bother, when the way they were was always perfect? Why are things the way they are? The question to which there is no answer, and up till then he was so blessed he didn't even know the question existed.
There is no coincidence. Only the illusion of coincidence.
You don't 'have' a life, you 'are' life. The One Life, the one consciousness that pervades the entire universe and takes temporary form to experience itself as a stone or blade of grass, as an animal, a person, a star or a galaxy.
Some of my ancestors fought in the American Revolution. A few more wore red coats, a few wore blue coats, and the rest wore no coats at all. We never did figure out who won that war.
I am too much of a sceptic to deny the possibility of anything...
I distrust the incommunicable; it is the source of all violence
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.