
Flannery O’Connor: Wrestling with Ambition and Humility
“What I am asking for is really very ridiculous. Oh Lord, I am saying, at present I am cheese, make me a mystic, immediately. But then God can do that – make mystics out of cheeses.”
“What I am asking for is really very ridiculous. Oh Lord, I am saying, at present I am cheese, make me a mystic, immediately. But then God can do that – make mystics out of cheeses.”
“What can we gain by sailing to the moon if we are not able to cross the abyss that separates us from ourselves?”
“Every day, God gives us the sun – and also one moment in which we have the ability to change everything that makes us unhappy.”
“It’s up to all of us to capture time, to give it meaning, and to be present and appreciative for every moment we’re alive.”
“To pay close attention to and mostly accept your life, inside and out and around your body, is to be halfway home.”
“The ultimate source of happiness is within us. Not money, not power, not status…outward attainment will not bring real inner joyfulness. We must look inside.”
“The happy life is this – to rejoice to you, in you, and for you. That is it and there is no other.”