Albert Einstein’s work in physics often overshadows the depth of his reflections on human nature, compassion, and our place in the world. Today’s highlighted quote comes from a letter he wrote in 1950, a message that continues to resonate for its insight into how people relate to one another and to the universe at large. According to Marginalian, the quote, included in The Quantum and the Lotus by Matthieu Ricard and Trinh Thuan, captures Einstein’s thoughts on the illusion of separateness that shapes human behaviour.
As the rough translation goes: “A human being is part of a whole, called by us the ‘Universe,’ a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separated from the rest —a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circles of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.”
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