Tuesday, January 01, 2008

Flowering of Our Humanity

"One way or another, 
we all have to find what best fosters 
the flowering of our humanity 
in this contemporary life, 
and dedicate ourselves to that."

-Joseph Campbell

10 comments:

Take A Year Out said...

he also said

'to do for others is illuminated as our highest calling - the most rewarding thing we can do.'

no wonder this guy inspired george lucas to create Yoda...

CG said...

Inspiring. Humanity such an enormous measure, in my eyes, yet so easily pleased by many little things..

La Belette Rouge said...

Quote Fest all access pass:

To your point about authenticity, Joe said: "The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are."

And to following your dreams, cutey Campbell had this to say: “We must be willing to get rid of the life we've planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us.”

He was truly crush-worthy. Have you seen him in the Moyer's interviews? He just sparkles with life and he was in his 80's when they did those interviews. He is a serous cutey. I know, I am a dork :)

Ancilla said...

happy new year b....
hope for a better year for all of us....

and for me, hope that i can update my blog as frequent as you are. hehehehe....

Anonymous said...

It's been a rough few days for me so this is quote was very nice to read.

B said...

TAYO... Campbell is one of the most inspiring people I've read. He realized the significance in self discovery and pursuit but not at the expense of others. Brilliant in his simplicity and childlike enthusiasm!

Carra... Humanity is such an enormous measure and yet, so very simple.

LBR... YES! I was so afraid that Quote Fest ended in 2007! :) Crush worthy indeed!! I have seen excerpts from that interview and yes, he does sparkle and his childlike enthusiasm is so contagious. You just want to run through a field holding hands with him, looking into that sparkling soul! Okay, now that is insanely dorky!!

These quotes are wonderful, LBR. Thanks for reminding me of them. I think I am going to put my January fiction on hold and re-read The Power of Myth. Something tells me it is time to pull that out again and be reminded! Merci!

Ancilla.... Hi!! It is so great to hear from you! I've missed you! :) Happy New Year to you. I hope that you are doing well and that the year ahead is better for all of us. I look forward to reading your new posts!!

Colleen... I'm sorry to hear that the last few days have been rough. I've been going through a rough few days myself...battling that inner critic. I was telling LBR this recently but quotes are just such poignant reminders for me. They really do stir my soul and apparently, my soul needs lots of stirring lest it should become stagnant!!!

Richard said...

I agree.

However, I think it works best when we cooperate synergistically, rather than try to out compete one another.

B said...

Richard... Absolutely. And I think that is one of the primary points of discord in society.

mati said...

Joseph Campbell and Jung -people with a knowing that transcends all periods - they highlighted our blessed connectedness using their gifts of words and the significance of symbols-

wow, my dear friend ,Christiane Corbat,artist, sculpture was Campbell's student at Sara Lawrence! She went onto inspire the search for authenicity by creating sculptures that told peoples stories using they own choice of symbols. She is greatly missed by people in the Arts and Medicine movement but, her story lives on in her art! thanks for reminding me of these gifts with your fine posts!joy
betheanne
dancingdocdesign.com

B said...

Betheanne... Thank you for returning to my blog! Yes, Campbell and Jung truly are so knowing and will never cease to be inspiring. I am learning so much from them and a very good friend of mine about symbols.

How lucky your friend was to be a student of Campbell's! No doubt he inspired her life greatly. And she in turn leaves a remarkable legacy herself! Isn't it amazing how contagious that passion for living is?

I appreciate your kind comment. I am really trying to live an inspired life so I draw upon Campbell and kind people like yourself daily! Thank you so much!