Over the years I have developed a picture of what a human being living humanely is like. She is a person who understand, values and develops her body, finding it beautiful and useful; a person who is real and is willing to take risks, to be creative, to manifest competence, to change when the situation calls for it, and to find ways to accommodate to what is new and different, keeping that part of the old that is still useful and discarding what is not.
Taste everything, but swallow only what fits.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote suggests that one should explore various experiences, but only embrace those that are suitable or beneficial.
Virginia Satir's quote, 'Taste everything, but swallow only what fits,' emphasizes the importance of exploring different ideas, experiences, and viewpoints. It encourages openness and curiosity while also advocating for discernment in choosing what to accept or adopt into one's life. In essence, it underscores a balance between exploration and selectivity, suggesting that not everything encountered will be beneficial or appropriate.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a self-improvement seminar, this quote can be used to encourage participants to try new strategies but choose what aligns with their values.
More from Virginia Satir
All quotes βThe message sent is not always the message received.
What lingers from the parent's individual past, unresolved or incomplete, often becomes part of her or his irrational parenting.
The recommended daily requirement for hugs is: four per day for survival, eight per day for maintenance, and twelve per day for growth.
Your responses to the events of life are more important than the events themselves.
Put together all the existing families and you have society. It is as simple as that. Whatever kind of training took place in the individual family will be reflected in the kind of society that these families create.
Similar quotes
All my life I have placed great store in civility and good manners, practices I find scarce among the often hard-edged, badly socialized scientists with whom I associate. Tone of voice means a great deal to me in the course of debate. I despise the arrogance and doting self-regard so frequently found among the very bright.
It could be that one of the greatest hindrances to evangelism is the poverty of our own experience.
A dozen times a day we come to a fork in the road and must decide which way we will go. It is important to get our ultimate objectives clearly in mind so that we do not become distracted at each fork in the road by the irrelevant questions: Which is the easier or more pleasant way? Or, Which way are others going?
Take advantage of the ambiguity in the world. Look at something and think what else it might be.
When you find yourself in a hole, quit digging.
Never confuse motion with action.