Each thing I do, I rush through so I can do something else. In such a way do the days pass - -a blend of stock car racing and the never ending building of a gothic cathedral. Through the windows of my speeding car I see all that I love falling away: books unread, jokes untold, landscapes unvisited.
Interpretation
This quote reflects the hurry of life and the potential loss of cherished experiences while rushing through daily tasks.
In this quote, Stephen Dobyns expresses a poignant observation about the fast pace of modern life, where the constant rush to complete tasks and engage in new activities leads to a sense of loss. He compares this experience to a blend of fast racing and the painstaking construction of a cathedral, illustrating the tension between speed and meaningful accomplishment. The imagery of love and beauty slipping away—represented by unread books and unvisited landscapes—highlights the importance of slowing down to appreciate life's moments instead of just rushing through them.
In practice
In a speech about work-life balance, I might use this quote to emphasize the importance of slowing down to appreciate what truly matters.
But this time I'm not to blame; I want you to believe that. I simply slipped into those violets. No, I want to be really truthful. I am a little to blame. The sky, you know, was gold, and the ground all blue, and for a moment he looked like some one in a book.
For the first time since her return, she felt pain, a violent pain, but it made her feel alive, because it was worth feeling.
He who does not travel, who does not read, _x000D_ who does not listen to music, _x000D_ who does not find grace in himself, _x000D_ she who does not find grace in herself, _x000D_ dies slowly.
You know it's only 50 miles from Grand River to Canton, but it took me 67 years to travel that distance.
Life was what happened when all the what-if’s didn’t, when what you dreamed or hoped or – in this case – feared might come to pass passed by instead.
Because I've been so blessed with a background in nursing and spent so much time with patients at a really intimate, vulnerable time in their lives, the one lesson I've learned is that you never turn down a challenge where you can keep your creative integrity and your heart and soul and your sense of self.
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