Monday, March 19, 2007

Quote of the Day: Anais Nin and the Courage to Blossom

It takes courage to push yourself to places that you have never been before... to test your limits, to break through barriers. The day came when the risk it took to remain tight inside the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.

Cheesy, yes. But it describes well the time when I became open to myself and others about the fact that I was no longer an Orthodox Jew.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

True.

But what about the people who blossom after leaving a secular existence and becoming religious?

Perhaps its the transformation process itself, rather than the destination, that is what causes people to blossom.

Jewish Atheist said...

I agree. It's more about being honest than about leaving religion per se.

asher said...

Cheezy yes...but how about those cheeseburgers you now enjoy?

beepbeepitsme said...

What was the turning point? If there was one?

Anonymous said...

Aaaaaaaah. How cute!

Anonymous said...

Read it again- it was about anal.

Anonymous said...

I once heard a sermon in which the (older, experienced) pastor said:

"Change is always painful. People only change when it becomes more painful to stay the same than it is to make the change."

He went on to make a joke about ramping up the pain level in the congregation until parishoners are open to change.

Anyway, I've always thought it was a valid insight into human nature. And it's true to my own experience — I have made some major changes in my life (divorce is one example), but not until the status quo had become intolerable.