At some point in life the world’s beauty becomes enough. You don’t need to photograph, paint, or even remember it. It is enough.
Toni Morrison
About the author
Toni Morrison was a renowned American author born on February 18, 1931, in Lorain, Ohio. She was the second of four children and grew up in a semi-integrated area, experiencing racial discrimination. Morrison’s birth name was Chloe Anthony Wofford. She attended Howard University, where she experienced racial segregation and witnessed the divide among people of colour based on skin tone. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in English, she earned her Master of Arts in English from Cornell University. Morrison began her teaching career at Texas Southern University and later joined the faculty at Howard University, where she met her husband, Harold Morrison. The couple had two children, Harold and Slade. In 1965, Morrison became a fiction editor at Random House, where she worked for several years. She began teaching writing at the State University of New York at Albany in 1984, leaving in 1989 to join the faculty of Princeton University, where she retired in 2006. Morrison was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1993, becoming the first African-American woman to receive this honour. She passed away on August 5, 2019, at the age of 88.
The meaning behind the quote
Toni Morrison’s quote conveys that there comes a time when one no longer needs to photograph, paint, or remember the world’s beauty. It is enough to simply appreciate it at the moment. This quote can be interpreted in several ways. On a personal level, it suggests that there is a point in life when one finds contentment and satisfaction with the world as it is, without the need to document or preserve it. On a broader level, it can be seen as a commentary on the human condition, where individuals often chase after external validation or material possessions without fully understanding why they desire them. Morrison’s quote encourages us to find meaning and fulfilment in the present moment rather than constantly seeking more. It is a reminder to appreciate the world’s beauty and to recognize that sometimes, just being present at the moment is enough.