"You can't go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending."
This quote suggests that while we cannot alter our past or undo mistakes made in the past, we have the power to shape our future and make positive changes starting from the present moment. It encourages resilience, optimism, and self-improvement, emphasizing the importance of taking control of one's life and creating a better ending, regardless of where we started or what challenges we faced in the past.
"Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: What! You too? I thought I was the only one."
C.S. Lewis's quote, "Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: 'What! You too? I thought I was the only one,'" implies a profound sense of connection and understanding. It signifies the realization that there is someone else who shares your thoughts, feelings, or experiences, often in a way that makes you feel less alone. This quote underscores the importance of empathy and shared identity in fostering deep friendships where individuals can find solace, support, and companionship.
"God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing."
This quote by C.S. Lewis suggests that genuine happiness and inner peace can only be found through a connection with God. According to Lewis, these states of being do not exist independently of a divine source; they are inextricably linked to the nature of God. Therefore, we can only find lasting happiness and peace by turning towards and aligning ourselves with Him.
"The Christian does not think of himself as strong. He thinks of himself as standing in Christ and therefore very strong."
This quote by C.S. Lewis emphasizes that a Christian's strength comes not from their own personal abilities or virtues, but from their relationship with Christ. In other words, a Christian derives their strength not from their own self-perception of being strong, but from the recognition that they are "in Christ," which makes them spiritually robust and capable. It's a humble acknowledgment that one's power comes from divine connection rather than personal capabilities alone.
"To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket—safe, dark, motionless, airless—it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable."
C.S. Lewis' quote emphasizes the vulnerability inherent in love, suggesting that loving anything means opening oneself to potential emotional harm. He implies that those who choose to remain detached and avoid entanglements with others, or even animals, in order to preserve their own hearts, will ultimately find their emotions hardened and unyielding. However, by embracing vulnerability through love, one's heart may be wrung and possibly broken; but it will also experience growth, change, and the capacity for deeper connections.
What I call my 'self' now is hardly a person at all. It's mainly a meeting place for various natural forces, desires, and fears, etcetera, some of which come from my ancestors, and some from my education, some perhaps from devils. The self you were really intended to be is something that lives not from nature but from God.
- C. S. Lewis
Everyone has noticed how hard it is to turn our thoughts to God when everything is going well with us... While what we call 'our own life' remains agreeable, we will not surrender it to Him. What, then, can God do in our interests but make 'our own life' less agreeable to us, and take away the plausible sources of false happiness?
- C. S. Lewis
We are not living in a world where all roads are radii of a circle and where all, if followed long enough, will therefore draw gradually nearer and finally meet at the centre: rather in a world where every road, after a few miles, forks into two, and each of those into two again, and at each fork, you must make a decision.
- C. S. Lewis
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