“One must say Yes to life and embrace it whenever it is found — and it is found in terrible places; nevertheless, there it is. For nothing is fixed, forever and forever and forever, it is not fixed; the earth is always shifting, the light is always changing, the sea does not cease to grind down rock.
“Generations do not cease to be born, and we are responsible to them because we are the only witnesses they have. The sea rises, the light fails, lovers cling to each other, and children cling to us.
“The moment we cease to hold each other, the moment we break faith with one another, the sea engulfs us and the light goes out.” —James Baldwin
Great words, great man!
Thank you for commenting, Hilary!
He was such a brilliant thinker and writer.
Love the quote. Too bad some of the American government is incapable of hearing it’s message. Thanks, Cynthia.
I hear you. But a few other people who need encouragement may see it.
What a beautiful post, Cynthia! Yes to life!
Thanks, Lavinia. It gives me such a boost that I wanted to share it.
It was a boost for me too.
Extremely good explanation for the dark times we are experiencing here.
I posted it for Americans, and for us Canadians, and for all the people around the world being hurt by the US government’s actions. And I posted it to honour Black History Month in Canada.
What an exquisite piece of writing! I’m a big admirer of James Baldwin. I’m glad his spirit, through his writing, is still with us. We need his wisdom and humanity now more than ever.
We certainly do, Liz.
One of my favourite writers. Such wisdom, such grace.
Whoa, that’s amazing.
Beautifully written!
💜🪶
Hello Cynthia! I have kept your posts in my Inbox to read when I could get a little more time, and today, I decided to jump into a couple. I chose this one because I loved the title, ‘Yes to Life’. And what a beautiful and true quote from James Baldwin.
I hope you are well. ❤️
Thanks, Jeanne. How lovely to hear from you.
Thanks for reading the post.
Not sure why I can’t access your blog.
Please resend me your blog address.
Will try again.