“A self is not something static, tied up in a pretty parcel and handed to the child, finished and complete. A self is always becoming.”

Section 1.10 <!-- p. 32 -->
Source: The Crosswicks Journal, A Circle of Quiet (1972)
Context: We do have to use our minds as far as they will take us, yet acknowledging that they cannot take us all the way.
We can give a child a self-image. But is this a good idea? Hitler did a devastating job at that kind of thing. So does Chairman Mao. … I haven't defined a self, nor do I want to. A self is not something static, tied up in a pretty parcel and handed to the child, finished and complete. A self is always becoming.

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Madeleine L'Engle 223
American writer 1918–2007

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