Marie Curie
15 months ago
“Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood.”
Marie Curie.
Comments:
shelagh_c 15 cheers to 7000 / still wants to be what she might have been
I like this post
thanks for sharing.
I’m happy to come across such words of encouragement – just at the moment I need them so much. Thanks a lot!
New Isabella What will I accomplish today? Decorating the tree?
I like this post, too...
Great quote. Great selection. :)
x
Enore is
It's a silly thing to say.
I can think of all sorts of shit to be afraid of, understood or not.
Why do people say silly shit like this?
DoubleN is working on surviving till year's end
This
is the quote of someone young, Unc. Uttered before life has kicked the shit out of them. Let them have their optimism; they’ll find out soon enough there is plenty to fear, though we don’t have to cower from it.
Enore is
Right.
Gotcha.
New Isabella What will I accomplish today? Decorating the tree?
I wondered how old she really was...
...so I thought I’d waste some time earlier today and try to find out. There are a lot of references to the quote, but couldn’t find out where or when she said it. However, in reading about her, it seems like life gave her a few kicks early on. For starters, her older sister died when she was 11, and her mother died when she was 12. I had similar kicks when I was a similar age. Her mother was educated and had worked in a school, and her father didn’t make that much on his own as a school teacher. She had 4 surviving older siblings, 1 brother & 3 sisters. The father only had enough money to send his son to college. After Marie graduated from gymnasium (high school) at age 15, she went to work as a governess for a several years and paid to put one of her older sisters through medical school in Paris. That sister then had her move in with her in Paris and helped her go to college.
The full quote is ‘Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.’ That 2nd sentence changes the quote a little, I think.
She also said: “Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. “
Some articles claimed she wasn’t afraid enough of the radioactive stuff that she worked with, and that she could have done more to protect herself as the harmful affects of radioactivity were discovered. She died at age 66 from leukemia.
I liked the quote because fear is such a big issue for me, and my tendency is to try to avoid or escape from things I fear, instead of facing them and trying to understand them.
I have wasted so much energy being fearful of things that never happen, that I can identify with Mark Twain, who said: “I have been through some terrible things in my life, some of which actually happened.”
Enore is
I don't suggest one cower in front of one's fears.
Quite the opposite, I believe in squaring off and facing them as directly as one can.
Fear is, among other things, a warning. Yes, some fears are irrational, and those need to be recognized for what they are and be pushed aside or conquered.
But there are plenty of things in the world that generate fear, and one would be well advised to heed the warning. Curry, for example, died of leukemia. I’m sure she understood the mechanism of the disease, but had she had a modicum of fear about it, it might have been avoided.
juliemae is on the path.
well I like it...
there is “caution,” there is “adrenaline-induced survival instincts,” and then there is “fear.” The first two serve us well, but what’s the point in fear, really? Only keeps us from exploring (and finding more efficient ways to be safe than paranoia.) Indeed, great quote!
Enore is
Ok, well, maybe we only disagree...
...over semantics, Julie. I’m not parsing “fear” the same way you are, and if you look up at my comment to New Izzy, maybe what I mean will be clearer.
juliemae is on the path.
Imam Enore, peace be upon you....
(Or whatever I’m supposed to say to an Imam so as not to disrespect.)
I’m not a parser. I parse not. I’m just enjoying the quote the way I read it! :-) But yes, like it or not, fear exists, and probably for a reason. But I like the rational approach to the quote, with an emphasis on questioning and challenging, rather than running away yipping (like I’ve tended to do way too often…)
Enore is
Gotcha.
I wasn’t trying to suggest one should run anywhere, just that there are things one ought to beware of, “fear,” and be careful around. I almost always try and face things head-on. Mostly.
(By the way, the correct way to address an imam is, Yo, dude.)
juliemae is on the path.
LOL… thanks, I’ll make note of that, Most Supremely Highly Dudacious Imam Enore.
Duckienz is in Europe!
Just a side note
FEAR stands for
False Evidence Appearing Real…
something I live by
pinknkitsch has gotten 13 cheers on this entry.
~ Julie ~ cheered this 15 months ago
Frannie cheered this 15 months ago
Mikhail Nikolayevich cheered this 15 months ago
juliemae cheered this 15 months ago
MadameReya, dilettante extraordinaire cheered this 15 months ago
A Staggering Rat of Heartbreaking Something or Other cheered this 15 months ago
Faustus cheered this 15 months ago
New Isabella cheered this 15 months ago
Long John Silvie cheered this 15 months ago
Jessy cheered this 15 months ago
Pippi Langstrumpf cheered this 15 months ago
wren cheered this 15 months ago
shelagh_c cheered this 15 months ago
