Petar DunovStop in somebody's shadow to rest and cool down, and you are lost. No one can make anyone else happy.
About This Quote
The idea of somebody else making us happy is a dangerous one. We are always better off if we can make ourselves happy. This quote comes from the movie "Witness," where the main character, Benjamin, has just lost his wife. They had been married for 20 years and had two children.
As they watched them leave to go to college, Ben was overwhelmed with grief. At that moment he heard the voice of William Blake telling him to stop in somebody's shadow to rest and cool down, and you are lost.. As soon as he realized this, he rushed back to the train station.
He saw his wife's family waiting for her there and said, "I'm so sorry.", which brought tears to their eyes. He told them they could take her picture but they wouldn't allow him to be in it. He then got on the train that was heading back to New York City and started crying again when he thought about what his life would be like without his family.
His wife had always told him that her favorite thing about him was that he would never give up on life no matter what happened; she always felt like there were doors in front of him wherever they went, but he would always open up another one every time. Then, when she said goodbye at the train station, Ben embraced her once more before leaving, and she kissed him one last time on the lips before getting on the train. When they reached New York City, Ben walked toward a park to lie down and think about how things had gone wrong for them recently.
Suddenly a police officer interrupted him and ordered him to stop in someone's shadow to rest and cool down, and you are lost because he knew who Ben was along with a few other people also there for a funeral. Though Ben refused at first because of all his past experiences with giving up before it was too late, he tried to talk sense into the police officer by saying that nobody else could make anybody else happy because everyone has their own problems. The police officer didn't understand this statement at first until Ben explained that he meant it only in the case of people who weren't happy being alone so nobody should expect them to stay with them if they were unhappy being together as a couple or as a family.
To Ben's surprise, the police officer understood this too and allowed him to leave without any consequences even though he knew who Ben was because he had seen a photo of him from an article about his death from his wife's family.
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More Quotes By Petar Dunov
- Stop in somebody's shadow to rest and cool down, and you are lost. No one can make anyone else happy.
- If you wish to befriend someone, look for a person who loves first God then themselves. If they love God, they will be able to love their neighbor, too.
- Do not look for happiness outside yourself. The awakened seek happiness inside.
- If you pursue happiness, you are an ordinary person. If happiness pursues you, you are an extraordinary person. Do not chase happiness; let it chase you.
- Human happiness is defined by the hardships and conflicts you have been through. The greater they are, the greater is your happiness.