Hi all! I recently came across this Buzzfeed article of Morrison’s quotes. They are truly beautiful and if you haven’t started to read “A Mercy” yet, I think this is a nice taste of her writings and speeches.
Which is your favorite & why? I love “We die. That may be the meaning of life. But we do language. That may be the measure of our lives.”
As a creative writing major, the work I produce is a part of me. I think it’s also important to note that language runs our lives. Over the summer I read a book called “The Four Agreements” which explains how we, humans, use language and how we should strive to do “good” with words. In this book’s case “doing good” means using words to help and build up others. Chapter two explains: “The word is a force; it is the power you have to express and communicate, to think, and thereby to create the events in your life. […] The word is like a seed, and the human mind is so fertile! The only problem is that too often it is fertile for the seeds of fear.”
I believe what Morrison means by saying language is the “measure of our lives” is that what we say and how we use language determines how our lives turn out and how we impact the lives of others. This holds true for “The Four Agreements” as well.
I hope you enjoy this article!