We have to realize that we are as deeply afraid to live and to love as we are to die.
R. D. LaingRead
Each time a new baby is born there is a possibility of reprieve. Each child is a new being, a potential prophet, a new spiritual prince, a new spark of light precipitated into the outer darkness.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes the potential and hope that comes with each new life, suggesting every child can bring positive change to the world.
R. D. Laing reflects on the significance of a new child's birth, suggesting that each baby is not just a continuation of life but a unique opportunity for change, enlightenment, and new perspectives. The imagery of a 'spark of light' in 'outer darkness' emphasizes the idea that every child has the potential to bring hope, wisdom, and transformative power to the world, symbolizing endless possibilities and the inherent value of human life.
Themes
BirthHopePotentialLifeChildren
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the importance of education, I could quote this to highlight the value of nurturing every child's potential.
More from R. D. Laing
All quotes βMadness need not be all breakdown. It may also be break-through. It is potential liberation and renewal as well as enslavement and existential death.
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Whether life is worth living depends on whether there is love in life.
R. D. LaingRead
The experience and behavior that gets labeled schizophrenic is a special strategy that a person invents in order to live in an unlivable situation.
R. D. LaingRead
The range of what we think and do is limited by what we fail to notice.
R. D. LaingRead
Here we have the paradox, the potentially tragic paradox, that our relatedness to others is an essential aspect of our being, as is our separateness, but any particular person is not a necessary part of our being.
R. D. LaingRead
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The teachings of Christianity - from vicarious redemption to the love of enemies, no thought for the morrow need be taken, that no thrift or care or family or society or solidarity is necessary - these are immoral teachings that have done and continue to inflict untold moral and physical harm on our species. And until we outgrow this nonsense, we have no chance of emancipating ourselves.
Christopher HitchensRead