So this was adolescence. Is this how the people around me had died on their feet - inevitably, helplessly? Perhaps their own selves eclipsed the sun for so many years the world shriveled around them, and when at last their inescapable orbits had passed through these dark egoistic years it was too late, they had adjusted. Must I then lose the world forever, that I had so loved? Was it all, the whole bright and various planet, where I had been so ardent about finding myself alive, only a passion peculiar to children, that I would outgrow even against my will?
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Adolescence is a dark period where ego overshadows the world, and growing up might mean losing passion.
- In plain terms
- Growing up feels like losing your youthful wonder and intensity.
- What can you take from it?
- Accept that some childhood passions fade with age.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What did you lose growing up?
- Can you keep childhood ardor?
Another view
It assumes adulthood necessarily diminishes capacity for wonder.
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