We see it in the body, that if you just give the body enough rest and comfort, it has remarkable self-healing capacities. Well, so does the spirit.
No sooner do we think we have assembled a comfortable life than we find a piece of ourselves that has no place to fit in.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects the constant struggle of finding balance and fulfillment in our lives, suggesting that even when we achieve comfort, there remains an aspect of ourselves that feels unfulfilled.
Gail Sheehy's quote highlights the ongoing journey of self-discovery and the complexity of human existence. It suggests that life is not merely about achieving comfort or happiness; instead, it reveals the deeper layers of our identity that often go unacknowledged. As we strive for a comfortable life, we may encounter parts of ourselves that feel alienated or unfulfilled, prompting a continuous exploration of our true desires and needs.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
Use this quote in a personal development seminar to discuss the importance of self-exploration.
More from Gail Sheehy
All quotes βI was devastated when I got the review for my first book. The book came out a couple years before the women's movement broke through, and people were putting it down, asking, 'Why does the woman in this book need to get a divorce? Why can't she just shut up and be happy?'
A seasoned woman is spicy. She has been marinated in life experiences. Like a complex wine, she can be alternately sweet, tart, sparkling, mellow. She is both maternal and playful. Assured, alluring, and resourceful.
This is something caregivers have to understand: You have to ask for help. You have to realize that you deserve to ask for help. Because you need to keep on working on your own life.
I found that female pathfinders generally integrate characteristics commonly associated with being women - like the capacity to be intimate - with 'male' ones like ambition and courage.
Being a pathfinder is to be willing to risk failure and still go on.
Similar quotes
There's something about knowing life is finite that makes it so precious.
No woman can call herself free who does not own and control her body. No woman can call herself free until she can choose consciously whether she will or will not be a mother.
You don't know why God has put that person in your path. It's not a coincidence. He's strategically lined up every person, every detail and every step of your life. Now do your part--don't miss an opportunity to do good for others.
But a voice inside her whispered, There are no heroes, and she remembered what Lord Petyr had said to her, here in this very hall. 'Life is not a song, sweetling,' he'd told her, 'You may learn that one day to your sorrow.' In life, the monsters win, she told herself.
Why should you row a boat race? Why endure the long months of pain in preparation for a fierce half hour that will leave you all but dead? Does anyone ask the question? Is there anyone who would not go through all the costs, and more, for the moment when anguish breaks into triumph or even for the glory of having nobly lost? Is life less than a boat race? If a man will give the blood in his body to win the one, will he spend all the might of his soul to prevail in the other?
It is not doing the thing we like to do, but liking the thing we have to do, that makes life blessed.