--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I always felt called to serve, to empower…" description: "\"I always felt called to serve, to empower and ennoble as many people as I could, teaching, truth-telling, exposing lies, bearing witness, and being wil..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/13a/cornel-west-708_bearing-witness_i-always-felt-called-to-serve-to-empower_1864611.jpg" --- # I always felt called to serve, to empower and ennoble as… ![“I always felt called to serve, to empower and ennoble as many people as I could, teaching, truth-telling, exposing lies, bearing witness, and being willing to live and die for something bigger than yourself. I had a passion and love of learning and wisdom that was inseparable from a love of music…” quote by Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/13a/cornel-west-708_bearing-witness_i-always-felt-called-to-serve-to-empower_1864611.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/13a/cornel-west-708_bearing-witness_i-always-felt-called-to-serve-to-empower_1864611.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/13a/cornel-west-708_bearing-witness_i-always-felt-called-to-serve-to-empower_1864611.jpg) > “I always felt called to serve, to empower and ennoble as many people as I could, teaching, truth-telling, exposing lies, bearing witness, and being willing to live and die for something bigger than yourself. I had a passion and love of learning and wisdom that was inseparable from a love of music and the arts.” [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Serving others and seeking truth, while embracing art, creates a meaningful, larger purpose. **In simple terms:** Serve, seek truth, love art for purpose. Key Takeaway Commit to service, learning, and artistic appreciation. Themes service truth art purpose Mood passionate reflective motivational Type advice inspirational When to use this quote - volunteering - teaching - activism - creative workshops - public speaking Key Concepts ethics philosophy humanities Questions to Reflect On - What cause you to serve? - How does art influence your activism? A Different Perspective Balancing service and personal well‑being can be challenging. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bearing witness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bearing-witness/) [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Love of learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-of-learning/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Passion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passion/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) ## Related quotes > [I always felt called to serve, to empower and ennoble as many people as I could, teaching, truth-telling, exposing lies, bearing witness, and being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/i-always-felt-called-to-serve-to-empower-and-ennoble-as-many-people/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [A calling is you feel - you look out and see the need - maybe it's the need for the poor, to help poor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/a-calling-is-you-feel-you-look-out-and-see-the-need-maybe-it-s-the/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [It seemed unthinkable for me to leave the world forever before I had produced all that I felt called upon to produce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-van-beethoven/it-seemed-unthinkable-for-me-to-leave-the-world-forever-before-i-had/) [Ludwig van Beethoven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-van-beethoven/) > [I signed up for military service in the months following 9/11, and later, as a military intelligence officer, I felt called, like so many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-kander/i-signed-up-for-military-service-in-the-months-following-9-11-and/) [Jason Kander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-kander/) > [Early on, I wrote a letter to the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. I was 17. I felt called, moved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lewis/early-on-i-wrote-a-letter-to-the-rev-martin-luther-king-jr-i-was-17-i/) [John Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lewis/) > [I had a passion and love of learning and wisdom that was inseparable from a love of music and the arts. I've never viewed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/i-had-a-passion-and-love-of-learning-and-wisdom-that-was-inseparable/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [I can give my love of learning to other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-thrun/i-can-give-my-love-of-learning-to-other-people/) [Sebastian Thrun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-thrun/) > [One of my signature strengths is the love of learning, and by teaching, I have built it into the fabric of my life. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-seligman/one-of-my-signature-strengths-is-the-love-of-learning-and-by-teaching/) [Martin Seligman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-seligman/) > [A good teacher has a love of teaching. A great teacher has a love of learning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/a-good-teacher-has-a-love-of-teaching-a-great-teacher-has-a-love-of/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [Wherever they went the Irish brought with them their books, many unseen in Europe for centuries and tied to their waists as signs of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-cahill/wherever-they-went-the-irish-brought-with-them-their-books-many/) [Thomas Cahill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-cahill/) > [I was never told that the purpose of school was to get a job at the end of it. What was pushed on me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-walker/i-was-never-told-that-the-purpose-of-school-was-to-get-a-job-at-the/) [Nicola Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-walker/) > [Love of learning led to monasteries, which became the cradle of academic guilds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ortberg/love-of-learning-led-to-monasteries-which-became-the-cradle-of/) [John Ortberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ortberg/) > [Love of goodness without love of learning degenerates into simple-mindedness. Love of knowledge without love of learning degenerates into utter lack of principle. Love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/love-of-goodness-without-love-of-learning-degenerates-into-simple/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [People are attracted to teaching because they want to make a real impact. The teachers who are making the greatest difference go far beyond…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-kopp/people-are-attracted-to-teaching-because-they-want-to-make-a-real/) [Wendy Kopp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-kopp/) > [If you had always been free to learn, you would follow your natural tendency to find out as fully as possible about the things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-llewellyn/if-you-had-always-been-free-to-learn-you-would-follow-your-natural/) [Grace Llewellyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-llewellyn/) ## More by Cornel West > [There has certainly been ugly, right-wing hatred targeting Barack Obama.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/there-has-certainly-been-ugly-right-wing-hatred-targeting-barack-obama/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [What is accurately portrayed is the rich humanity not just of Martin Luther King but of the movement, which was a multiracial movement. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/what-is-accurately-portrayed-is-the-rich-humanity-not-just-of-martin/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [I feel as if I have been blessed to undergo a transformation from 'gangster' to 'redeemed sinner with gangster proclivities.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/i-feel-as-if-i-have-been-blessed-to-undergo-a-transformation-from/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [“Like King, we need to put on our cemetery clothes and be coffin-ready for the next great democratic battle.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/like-king-we-need-to-put-on-our-cemetery-clothes-and-be-coffin-ready/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [ “You can't really move forward until you look back. \[From Remaking America panel discussion at George Washington University\]” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/you-can-t-really-move-forward-until-you-look-back-from-remaking/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [When we think of globalization we are thinking in part of structures and institutions that have been developed over time and that have allowed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/when-we-think-of-globalization-we-are-thinking-in-part-of-structures/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [The challenge artists face today is whether to be an underground, unheard genius, or to dilute their art for the marketplace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/the-challenge-artists-face-today-is-whether-to-be-an-underground/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [The need of black conservatives to gain the respect of their white peers deeply shapes certain elements of their conservatism. In this regard, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/the-need-of-black-conservatives-to-gain-the-respect-of-their-white/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [For me, musicians are poets. Beethoven describes himself as a poet of tones, just like Coltrane's a poet of tempo.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/for-me-musicians-are-poets-beethoven-describes-himself-as-a-poet-of/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [I don't draw any distinctions between forms of bigotry or forms of ideology that lose sight of the humanity of people. I can't stand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/i-don-t-draw-any-distinctions-between-forms-of-bigotry-or-forms-of/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [Barack Obama has domesticated the left in such a way that we feel as if we have no alternative but him...I refuse to accept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/barack-obama-has-domesticated-the-left-in-such-a-way-that-we-feel-as/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [Larry Summers, I think, he had a long history of arrogance and relative ignorance about poor people's culture and working people's culture and so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/larry-summers-i-think-he-had-a-long-history-of-arrogance-and-relative/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [The greatest gift you can give someone is the gift of inspiration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/the-greatest-gift-you-can-give-someone-is-the-gift-of-inspiration/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [You can see it in terms of the obsession on Wall Street with not just profits but greed, more profit, more profit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/you-can-see-it-in-terms-of-the-obsession-on-wall-street-with-not-just/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [Anybody who takes Martin Luther King seriously has got to go beyond the standard understanding of who he was, has to connect those dots.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/anybody-who-takes-martin-luther-king-seriously-has-got-to-go-beyond/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) [Explore all 400 Cornel West quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) ## More Bearing witness quotes > [“As his ears rang and his heart broke for her, he stayed strong against the gale force she let loose. After all, there was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-ward/as-his-ears-rang-and-his-heart-broke-for-her-he-stayed-strong-against/) [J.R. Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-ward/) > [Photography is a weapon against what's wrong out there. It's bearing witness to the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brent-stirton/photography-is-a-weapon-against-what-s-wrong-out-there-it-s-bearing/) Brent Stirton > [Let me close by bearing witness (and my nine decades on this earth fully qualify me to say this) that the older I get,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-tom-perry/let-me-close-by-bearing-witness-and-my-nine-decades-on-this-earth/) [L. Tom Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-tom-perry/) > [Was it the act of giving birth that made you a mother? Did you lose that label when you relinquished your child? If people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/was-it-the-act-of-giving-birth-that-made-you-a-mother-did-you-lose/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“The discipline of witness takes seriously the biblical mandate of bearing witness to Jesus by building nonmanipulative relationships with eternity in view.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-d-boa/the-discipline-of-witness-takes-seriously-the-biblical-mandate-of/) [Kenneth D. Boa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-d-boa/) > [“There are many perks to living for twenty-one centuries, and foremost among them is bearing witness to the rare birth of genius. It invariably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-hearne/there-are-many-perks-to-living-for-twenty-one-centuries-and-foremost/) [Kevin Hearne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-hearne/) > [ “...\[Nature\] ever bearing witness against man that he has deliberately chosen ugliness instead of beauty...” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-morris/nature-ever-bearing-witness-against-man-that-he-has-deliberately/) [William Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-morris/) > [“What is courage?" I ask. "Bearing witness. That is a form of courage.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-stern/what-is-courage-i-ask-bearing-witness-that-is-a-form-of-courage/) [Jessica Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-stern/) > [We know what boredom is: it is a dull Impatience or a fierce velleity, A champing wish, stalled by our lassitude, To make or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-wilbur/we-know-what-boredom-is-it-is-a-dull-impatience-or-a-fierce-velleity/) [Richard Wilbur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-wilbur/) > [Individuals bearing witness do not change history; only movements that understand their social world can do that. Movements encourage solidarity; the moral individual is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-willis/individuals-bearing-witness-do-not-change-history-only-movements-that/) [Ellen Willis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-willis/) > [“Modern 3D cinema technology works by ensuring your left eye sees one image while your right sees another. But they could, presumably, issue one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-brooker/modern-3d-cinema-technology-works-by-ensuring-your-left-eye-sees-one/) [Charlie Brooker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-brooker/) > [An Eskimo custom offers an angry person release by walking the emotion out of his or her system in a straight line across the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/an-eskimo-custom-offers-an-angry-person-release-by-walking-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The concept of a literature of witness - of bearing witness - has embedded in it the need for action. One must not simply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-alberto-urrea/the-concept-of-a-literature-of-witness-of-bearing-witness-has/) [Luis Alberto Urrea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-alberto-urrea/) > [“I had read once, in one of those pre-plague books in the library, that love was bearing witness. That it was the act of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-carey/i-had-read-once-in-one-of-those-pre-plague-books-in-the-library-that/) [Anna Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-carey/) > [“I sing, not to hear the echo repeat, a shade fainter, my song! I think of light and not of glory! Singing is my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmond-rostand/i-sing-not-to-hear-the-echo-repeat-a-shade-fainter-my-song-i-think-of/) [Edmond Rostand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmond-rostand/) [Browse all 74 Bearing witness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bearing-witness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I always felt called to serve, to empower and ennoble as many people as I could, teaching, truth-telling, exposing lies, bearing witness, and being willing to live and die for something bigger than yourself. 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