Saturday, July 18, 2009

On snobbism

The root word for elegance is a Latin word (ēlegāre, variant of ēligere) meaning to select or to choose. It might bring up snobby connotations to some. But maybe that's okay. A favorite quote by Madeleine L'Engle (From A House Like a Lotus) explains why:

"She cut me off. 'Go ahead and be a snob. I'm a snob. If you didn't interest me I wouldn't give you the time of day. Being a snob isn't necessarily a bad thing. It can mean being unwilling to walk blindly through life instead of living it fully. Being unwilling to lose a sense of wonder. Being alive is a marvelous, precarious mystery, and few people appreciate it. Go on being a snob, Polly, as long as it keeps your mind and heart alert. It doesn't mean that you can't appreciate people who are different from you, or have different interests."

I suppose I am unwilling to walk blindly through life instead of living it fully. LIving life fully, my friends, appears to be wholly a matter of choice.

No comments:

Post a Comment