Tuesday, September 10, 2013

The Triumph In Walking Lightly

Hazel is different. She walks lightly, old man. She walks lightly upon the earth. Hazel knows the truth: We're as likely to hurt the universe as we are to help it, and we're not likely to do either. People will say it's sad that she leaves a lesser scar, that fewer remember her, that she was loved deeply but not widely. But it's not sad, Van Houten. It's triumphant. It's heroic. Isn't that the real heroism? Like the doctors say: First, do no harm. The real heroes anyway aren't the people doing things; the real heroes are the people NOTICING things, paying attention.

Excerpt from The Fault in Our Stars
by John Green

I guess I'd say that introverts tend to walk lightly, too. We tend to make fewer connections, but deeper ones. Often, we go unnoticed. Perhaps we leave fewer scars. I don't know.

 

2 comments:

C said...

Hey Zeri,

Good to see you posting again. I love The Fault in Our Stars, and this quote definitely got to me. I've been thinking about this idea too; for a long time I wanted to be famous and well-known, something more than what I am now. Maybe that's not the important thing. Maybe just touching a few lives deeply will mean I've lived a good life.

Take care,
C.

Zeri Kyd said...

Hi, C, I agree: it's a great story, and I think there's truth in it. The significance and meaning in our lives can be measured in many different ways, and I appreciated the slightly twisted perspective about it in this story.