Great renunciation by Zan Perrion

[Jan]

I'm reading 'Alabaster Girl' by Zan Perrion these days and one quote sticked in, but I can't really fully comprehend it.

"Every great life has in it a great renunciation."

Anyone keen on explaining what it means. Has any one of you actually experienced it?

 

[Train]

Reads to me like he's saying significant sacrifice precedes greatness. I.E. You can't have your cake and eat it too.

 

[Wick]

Most people live quiet lives of comfort. In essence, they renounce nothing.

A mile wide, everything is open to them and nothing is significantly developed or explored.

A man who goes to depths, pursues something with dedication, explores his limits, and especially has clear focus on one thing, lives the kind of life other people admire but only for the richness they see on the outside.

Often that man has endured much, given up much, pushed himself into discomfort often, in essence renounced comfort.

A mile deep, most things are left unexplored, but his subject of focus… And that he knows inside and out, and has obtained something great from it.

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Not sure I even agree completely with Zan, or even with my own words here, or even that they capture what Zan meant…but it struck a chord with me and some poetic musings came out.