#revere

What you encounter, recognize or discover depends to a large degree on the quality of your approach. Many of the ancient cultures practiced careful rituals of approach. An encounter of depth and spirit was preceded by careful preparation. When we approach with reverence, great things decide to approach us. Our real life comes to the surface and its light awakens the concealed beauty in things. When we walk on the earth with reverence, beauty will decide to trust us. The rushed heart and arrogant mind lack the gentleness and patience to enter that embrace. ↗

— John O'Donohue

#nature #patience #reverence #beauty

Cynicism is extremely contagious, and the most pious among us cannot long endure its potency. The gullible should be on their guard, however, since this endearing quality frequently masquerades as wit. ↗

— Mike Corbett

#demons #heaven #hell #intelligent-humor #irreverent-humor

He’d never really given religion much thought himself. It was just there, one of the basic fundamentals of life and living; Heaven is generally good and one should aspire to end up there, and Hell is decidedly foul and one should generally direct their enemies there. ↗

— T.A. Miles

#enemies #evil #good #heaven #heaven-and-hell

My day is done, and I am like a boat drawn on the beach, listening to the dance-music of the tide in the evening. ↗

— Rabindranath Tagore

#endings #evening #reverence #wonder #music

Irreverence is a most necessary ingredient of religion. Not to speak of its importance in philosophy. Irreverence is the only way left to us for testing our universe. ↗

— Frank Herbert

#leto-ii #philosophy #religion #religion

I thought I saw how stories of this kind could steal past a certain inhibition which had paralysed much of my own religion in childhood. Why did one find it so hard to feel as one was told one ought to feel about God or the sufferings of Christ? I thought the chief reason was that one was told one ought to. An obligation to feel can freeze feelings. And reverence itself did harm. The whole subject was associated with lowered voices; almost as if it were something medical. But supposing that by casting all these things into an imaginary world, stripping them of their stained-glass and Sunday School associations, one could make them for the first time appear in their real potency? Could one not thus steal past those watchful dragons? I thought one could. ↗

— C.S. Lewis

#dragons #narnia #past-watchful-dragons #potency #reverence

To keep the heart unwrinkled, to be hopeful, kindly, cheerful, reverent that is to triumph over old age. ↗

— Amos Bronson Alcott

#cheerful #heart #hopeful #keep #kindly

You can be revered for all sorts of qualities, but to be truly charismatic is rare. Elizabeth Taylor was, for me, one of those rarities. ↗

— Francesca Annis

#elizabeth #elizabeth taylor #me #qualities #rare

Men are swayed more by fear than by reverence. ↗

— Aristotle

#men #more #reverence #swayed #than

The generality of men are naturally apt to be swayed by fear rather than reverence, and to refrain from evil rather because of the punishment that it brings than because of its own foulness. ↗

— Aristotle

#because #brings #evil #fear #generality