Quote of the Week: 7

I abosultely love this quote.
(and I love the layout of this particular image as well! Can't fight the designer in me)

"In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, and invincible summer."
-Albert Camus

This quote is something to treasure in dark moments. Or moments when we feel like giving up. I, personally, hate winter. Once the New Year passes, it feels like an endless cycle of cold, wet, and misery. Summer feels like an unobtainable glory. As out of my reach as heaven is to a living being.

This psychological connection to the literal meaning of the quote really drives home the figurative message. The concept of being stuck in the thick of something so desolate touches parts of everyone’s life. This desolation could be a loveless marriage, a horrible job, the loss of loved ones, an abusive relationship, depression, poverty, hunger, the list is endless. What I love, is that they took the initiative to look within themselves. No outward pleas or cries, no using the moment as an excuse. Looking for help is not wrong, however turning this desolation into an excuse is pointless.

Summer, being the unobtainable heaven that it is, is actually found within them. All the outward help in the world can assist, but finding it is entirely upon us. We can create our own heaven here on earth. We can achieve much greatness within our own minds.

I mentioned in a previous post that the Universe has been sending me a lot of messages recently. Well one has been this idea of being capable of such greatness within each and every person. It actually all started a few years ago when I read Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. She essentially found within herself a God. She found her body to be an actual temple. (This may sound blasphemous to some- but achieving our own measure of greatness does not take away from the Almighty- after all, we were made in His image) I found these ideas radical, yet it felt so intrinsically true. Since that time there have been endless reinforcements to that message over and over. Now, it is true that we find reinforcement where we want to. There are those that only see reinforcements to negative stereotypes and ignore the good in people. This is different. Clues that have been left like bread crumbs. Things in everyday life that I had never noticed. I had a conversation with my sister one day on the way to Church about it, and at mass the priest actually even mentioned it in his reading and homily. So while some people only look for reinforcement to prove a point, others need to be merely looking for truth or knowledge to see it in front of them. It is important to be honest with yourself about your mind frame.

I believe that this quote speaks about finding the inner INVINCIBLE greatness that will be the torchlight for us through anything. To even have the ability to find it is a gift to be treasured. Cherish yourself, and know that no matter what winter brings down upon you, you have an inner summer glowing radiantly within you.

[steps down from soap box]

:)