Who said What? (Why QUOTES resonate with so many of us)
According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the oldest written quote/poem that humans have a written/saved record of dates back to 2031 BCE. Spending any time in any social media space, one quickly can observe this interest in “who said what” is a common human trait. In my own “quick dive” into our fascination with what some wise soul thought about a particular topic, I quickly realized this desire to reach back into history in an effort to make sense of what we are thinking or feeling is not a new phenomenon. Personally, I can’t recall a time when things were going swimmingly and I took a moment to say to myself “I wonder what others have said about this experience,” rather it seems we are drawn more to this seeking when we are distressed or troubled in some way. And our human world offers many opportunities to feel distressed and troubled.
From Greek philosophers to pop-culture icons, there is something for which we are longing to better understand or validate within ourselves. In the seeking, we can be found. In the seeking, we can be healed. In the seeking, we can be freed!
In a previous job, a large part of my daily work had me staring at a computer screen. While I was working in a non-profit that served those who had been diagnosed with cancer (Gilda's Club Detroit ), as a Director, much of my time was spent planning activities/workshops/social events, supervising staff and interns, and coordinating people and events. Above my computer screen, my wall, and my desk were my playground to affix quotes & poems that resonated with me. I remember needing to have something attached to these spaces and being both consciously aware of how much I needed to have them there and aware few others in the office had anything like this in their offices.
Quotes continue to be a significant part of my life, so much so it was the manner in which I conceptualized, processed, and wrote my first book (World Peace is an Inside Job ). In my research and planning, I looked for words from others as a sort of anchor to help me articulate thoughts I had about our intricate connection within the greater fabric of our collective world. In this process, I was able to realize the thoughts I had about the connection with our own inner peace and peace within our world has been pontificated long before I was even a glimmer in my parents’ eyes.
So who looks for quotes from history and why do they matter?
Far from being a scholarly assessment of this subject, my opinion is this: We seek “quotes” as a way of making sense of something that we cannot readily do on our own. In this search, we not only validate our own thoughts/views/beliefs, but we are able to connect with someone/something greater than ourselves. When we are in pain, when we are hurting, when we are suffering, there is some sort of comfort in knowing we are not the only ones since the beginning of time to experience whatever is written in our own hearts. For similar reasons some of us who identify as Bittersweet,
Bittersweet: defined as a tendency to states of longing, poignancy, and sorrow; an acute awareness of the passing of time, and a curiously piercing joy at the beauty of the world. It’s also about the recognition that light and dark, birth and death, bitter and sweet, are forever paired.
there appears to be even more of a desire to seek the words from humans long since gone, to validate and affirm the complicated emotions that swirl around in our minds and hearts. There is something comforting in knowing the heartache we as humans might currently be experiencing, has also been felt by countless others who lived long before us. We are not alone. And in that realization, we can find our way to wholeness, to acceptance, and to peace.
The words of Nagarjuna, an Indian Buddhist thinker who lived from 150-250 A.D. is credited in writing “Although you may spend your life killing, you will not exhaust all your foes. But if you quell your own anger, your real enemy will be slain”
Yes. This….is what we are seeking when we are hurting, feeling alone, longing for love and belonging and connection with others….and when we are in those spaces, it CAN be in a very real way a LIFELINE for those who are suffering to read the poignant and raw reflections from those living long ago, and those with us today… saying out loud the words we maybe somehow know, but need a reminder or validation of their truth.
While the origin of who receives credit for a particular quote may be up for debate (and the observation that seemingly ALL ancient historical quotes are credited to men… even if they were the ‘educated’ ones of the time, I do call BS that they were the only/majority of the ‘wise’ people at any time but that’s another topic) what isn’t up for debate is our need to be seen, to feel heard, to have our thoughts/emotions validated, to feel connection with others, to find a way to process even the most troublesome of life experiences.
Until Utopia, bliss, Heaven-on-Earth presents itself, we all will continue to exist in this messy, chaotic, sometimes hurtful space that is called being a human. Yet, even in these spaces, there can be beauty, there can be love, there can be peace if we are willing to sit with our emotions, allow those in who can hold those uncomfortable spaces, and trust in the Universe/God/and our OWN ability to find joy and light, even in the darkest of spaces.
“Invisible threads are the strongest ties.” Friedrich Nietzsche
Wishing you peace, love, and trust in the end, all of it was worth it…
