A striking quotation
When I was at the newly discovered Amazing Bookstore of English Language Wonder in Kyoto on Saturday, I (surprise) ended up in the political section. There, after perusing some Paul Krugman books, I found a book of the greatest American speeches of the 20th century. I opened it up, thinking that they had to have a certain speech that has struck me as no other speech ever has -- that's a speech that Robert Kennedy gave in Cape Town, known as the "Day of Affirmation" speech. If you've heard the bit about tiny ripples of hope each time a person stands up for an ideal, this is that speech. I already had the ripple of hope part quoted on my Facebook profile, but I hadn't actually sat down and read the whole speech.
But there it was, of course, in the book I found in Kyoto. So I stood there and read it. This was another of those Profound Moments for me, kind of like when I was riding the ferry across Sydney Harbour with the perfect soundtrack.
Not only was the speech inspiring in the ways I had expected, but I also came across this passage:
Our answer is the world's hope: It is to rely on youth. The cruelties and the obstacles of this swiftly changing planet will not yield to obsolete dogmas and outworn slogans. It cannot be moved by those who cling to a present which is already dying, who prefer the illusion of security to the excitement and danger which comes with even the most peaceful progress.
This world demands the qualities of youth; not a time of life but a state of mind, a temper of the will, a quality of the imagination, a predominance of courage over timidity, of the appetite for adventure over the life of ease.
This passage suddenly let me make sense of what I'm doing with Azilie's story. And I wasn't even thinking about Azilie at the time. But there it was -- these sorts of answers always come when you're not looking for them. I have been worryiing for a while about getting the real point of it across; it's not about a whiny kid who doesn't want to grow up. It's about something much more profound than that. In the first volume that still won't be entirely clear, but later it will be. The second quoted paragraph above is going to have to be the next book's epigraph. I mean...wow. That was so cool. It's perfect. That's it exactly.
That's what my story is about.
By bringing so many unexpected things together, this moment let me to make peace with something I've been frustrated with about the whole project. I wish I could convey it to all you guys but I guess it's just between me, Azilie, and the ghost of Bobby Kennedy. But it was pretty profound. I almost teared up.
I can keep writing my story now.
(Well, actually, I'm sick, so I'm going to wait until my brain is functioning again. There's always something, isn't there? But it's hard to write when you're hacking up your lungs. Sigh.)
If you want to hear or read the whole speech, by the way, here it is. :)
But there it was, of course, in the book I found in Kyoto. So I stood there and read it. This was another of those Profound Moments for me, kind of like when I was riding the ferry across Sydney Harbour with the perfect soundtrack.
Not only was the speech inspiring in the ways I had expected, but I also came across this passage:
Our answer is the world's hope: It is to rely on youth. The cruelties and the obstacles of this swiftly changing planet will not yield to obsolete dogmas and outworn slogans. It cannot be moved by those who cling to a present which is already dying, who prefer the illusion of security to the excitement and danger which comes with even the most peaceful progress.
This world demands the qualities of youth; not a time of life but a state of mind, a temper of the will, a quality of the imagination, a predominance of courage over timidity, of the appetite for adventure over the life of ease.
This passage suddenly let me make sense of what I'm doing with Azilie's story. And I wasn't even thinking about Azilie at the time. But there it was -- these sorts of answers always come when you're not looking for them. I have been worryiing for a while about getting the real point of it across; it's not about a whiny kid who doesn't want to grow up. It's about something much more profound than that. In the first volume that still won't be entirely clear, but later it will be. The second quoted paragraph above is going to have to be the next book's epigraph. I mean...wow. That was so cool. It's perfect. That's it exactly.
That's what my story is about.
By bringing so many unexpected things together, this moment let me to make peace with something I've been frustrated with about the whole project. I wish I could convey it to all you guys but I guess it's just between me, Azilie, and the ghost of Bobby Kennedy. But it was pretty profound. I almost teared up.
I can keep writing my story now.
(Well, actually, I'm sick, so I'm going to wait until my brain is functioning again. There's always something, isn't there? But it's hard to write when you're hacking up your lungs. Sigh.)
If you want to hear or read the whole speech, by the way, here it is. :)