Monday, April 14, 2008

Criminal Minds & A Quote

The most authentic thing about us is our capacity to create, to overcome, to endure, to transform, to love and to be greater than our suffering.
-Ben Okri

I heard this quote at the end of Criminal Minds and was really touched by it. When I looked it up, I discovered a wiki of Criminal Minds Quotes - a pretty cool link if you're a fan of the show like I am!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I was reading a book that talked about a similar idea in the context of us as humans and our movement through history to the present. We go through eras of greatness and decline in terms such as art, technology, information and our greatest strengths and growth typically rise from the times in decline. We reach a low and somehow we humans pull ourselves together and create a new, better society for ourselves... transforming, rising above. Question is... are we shifting into a decline right now? Who are our genius'? How have we improved the quality of life in the last 50 years, other than convenience? The book projects the existence of a growing counter culture called the "cultural creatives" who are asking these questions and beginning to buck the current modernist(dollar drives the world) and traditional (morals drive the world) ways of thinking. It really seems like common sense ideas, but the point is that that "cultural creatives" are slowly starting to band together here and there.

Anonymous said...

I would agree that it seems like we move through periods of decline and growth, and we probably can't tell what we're in until the time has passed. It also becomes tricky when we try to define greatness and decline in any subject...or which subjects are more important. Those "cultural creatives" sound like the thinkers of the renaissance. My kinda peeps! ;) (That reminds me - I want to do a post on the Pantheon in Paris.) Morals change, currency changes, the only constant is change!

It's funny because it seems like our quality of life will improve through a combination of convenience and simplifying our lives so we have the energy and inclination to be great. ;)

Anonymous said...

Another thing I was thinking about this quote is the way it defines us as humans...we're not different from other animals because we are superior to them and can control/kill/train/whatever them...it's because we have the choice and ability to do good towards them and other humans.