Go forward with joyful confidence.
George EliotRead
Strange, that some of us, with quick alternate vision, see beyond our infatuations, and even while we rave on the heights, behold the wide plain where our persistent self pauses and awaits us.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote suggests that some individuals possess the ability to recognize their deeper selves while experiencing intense emotions or passions.
In this quote, George Eliot reflects on the contrast between our passionate infatuations and the more stable, persistent aspects of our identity. She implies that while we may become lost in our emotions and dreams, there exists a clarity that allows us to see the larger picture of who we are, waiting patiently for us to return to reality. This awareness aids in understanding that while rapture can be exhilarating, it is important to recognize the balanced life and self that exists below the surface.
Themes
Self-AwarenessInfatuationIdentityClarityEmotion
In practice
Example use cases
During a motivational speech about emotional intelligence.
More from George Eliot
All quotes →You must love your work, and not be always looking over the edge of it, wanting your play to begin. And the other is, you must not be ashamed of your work, and think it would be more honorable to you to be doing something else. You must have a pride in your own work and in learning to do it well.
George EliotRead
She thought it was part of the hardship of her life that there was laid upon her the burthen of larger wants than others seemed to feel – that she had to endure this wide hopeless yearning for that something, whatever it was, that was greatest and best on this earth.
George EliotRead
Life seems to go on without effort when I am filled with music.
George EliotRead
I think I should have no other mortal wants, if I could always have plenty of music. It seems to infuse strength into my limbs and ideas into my brain. Life seems to go on without effort, when I am filled with music.
George EliotRead
Our dead are never dead to us until we have forgotten them: they can be injured by us, they can be wounded; they know all our penitence, all our aching sense that their place is empty, all the kisses we bestow on the smallest relic of their presence.
George EliotRead
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