“We cannot live in a world that is interpreted for us by others. An interpreted world is not a home. Part of the terror is to take back our own listening. To use our own voice. To see our own light.”
— Hildegard von Bingen, from ‘Selected Writings’ (via letheane)
Ironically, misquoted. From fear of misunderstanding and being misunderstood to inability to interpret entirely the way we should — with respect for ourselves and others; with rigour and intellectual honesty.
“We often look to someone like Hildegard or to other great people throughout the ages as if what they have is not ours to have; we admire them, honor them, study them. We want to make use of them, and we allow them to consummate our inner light for us. We allow them to be the still point of our turning world. We feel incapable, yet the world wants to infuse us and to be infused by us. At that point no one can help us, not angels, not men, not Hildegard, not Jung, not Rilke. We cannot live securely in a world which is not our own, in a world which is interpreted for us by others. An interpreted world is not a home. Part of the terror is to take back our own listening, to put our ears to our own inner voices, to see our own light, which is our birthright, and comes to us in silence.” (Source: Hildegard of Bingen, Warrior of Light, Elaine Bellezza, Gnosis magazine, vol 21, 1991)
“To express is to drive. And when you want to give something presence, you have to consult nature.
And there is where design comes in.
If you think of brick, for instance, you say to brick, ‘What do you want, brick?’
And brick says to you, ‘I’d like an arch.’
And if you say to brick, ‘Look, arches are expensive, and I can use a concrete lintel over you. What do you think of that, brick?’
Brick says, ‘I’d like an arch.’
And it’s important, you see, that you honour the material which you use. You don’t bandy it around as though you said, ‘Well, we have a lot of material around. We can do it one way; we can do it another.’ It’s not true. You can only do it if you honor the brick and glorify the brick instead of just shortchanging it.”
(C) Louis Kahn
