Healing for me is being able to sit next to the butcher and say 'Yes, Iβm sitting next to the butcher now,' instead of saying 'there is no butcher'.
Tori AmosRead
We all get intimidated by showing ourselves, for whatever reason, we think, If I really show who I am, and someone goes [pfftt] then it's gonna crush me. Well, it's not gonna crush me. It doesn't crush you if somebody does that- somebody will do that. Many times. And once you accept that that's not why you're doing it, you're doing it because that's your form of expression.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Embracing self-expression over fear of judgment empowers us.
This quote by Tori Amos highlights the fear of vulnerability and judgment that many people face when considering expressing their authentic selves. It encourages individuals to recognize that the fear of being rejected or belittled should not deter them from expressing who they truly are, as self-expression is an essential and valuable aspect of life, regardless of how others may respond.
Themes
Self-ExpressionVulnerabilityFearJudgmentAuthenticity
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can inspire individuals during motivational speeches about embracing their true selves.
More from Tori Amos
All quotes βWhen you stop putting yourself on the line, and you don't touch your own heart, how do you expect to touch other people?
Tori AmosRead
If you can't create physical life, you find a life force. If that's in music, that's in music. I started to find this deep, primitive rhythm, and I started to move to it. And I held hands with sorrow, and I danced with her, and we giggled a bit.
Tori AmosRead
I don't want to sit on the sidelines and not value the gift of being here. Instead of the idea of time ticking away, the grains of sand running out, I try to think of time as giving me another grain of sand, another gift. So time passing is an accumulation, rather than a diminishing.
Tori AmosRead
I don't mind a dirty girl. But what I find tragic is when we, as women, become not the subject of our own story but someone else's object.
Tori AmosRead
For many years, I shut down that place inside myself that needed to rage, cry, ask questions and basically just express herself. I made a conscious choice when I put (the song) 'Me and a Gun' on the record not to stay a victim anymore.
Tori AmosRead
Similar quotes
If you want to build a ship, don't drum up people to collect wood and don't assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.
Antoine De Saint-ExuperyRead
I want you to get excited about who you are, what you are, what you have, and what can still be for you. I want to inspire you to see that you can go far beyond where you are right now.
Virginia SatirRead
Even places that have been shrouded in darkness for billions of years can be illuminated. Even a stone from the bottom of a river can be used to produce fire. Our present sufferings, no matter how dark, have certainly not continued for billions of years--nor will they linger forever. The sun will definitely rise. In fact, its ascent has already begun.
Daisaku IkedaRead
I remember being in Japan when Destiny's Child put out 'Independent Women,' and women there were saying how proud they were to have their own jobs, their own independent thinking, their own goals. It made me feel so good, and I realized that one of my responsibilities was to inspire women in a deeper way.
Beyonce KnowlesRead
If two billion people wanted to watch a robot fly by Pluto, imagine what it will be like when the first humans step on Mars. It'll be the most unifying event anybody could ever put on.
Alan SternRead
I've found that there is always some beauty left-in nature, sunshine, freedom, in yourself; these can all help you. Look at these things, then you find yourself again, and God, and then you regain your balance. And whoever is happy will make others happy too. He who has courage and faith will never perish in misery!
Anne FrankRead