--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To be modern is to find ourselves in an…" description: "\"To be modern is to find ourselves in an environment that promises us adventure, power, joy, growth, transformation of ourselves and the world - and at ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e50/marshall-berman-57356_adventure_to-be-modern-is-to-find-ourselves-in-an_88969.jpg" --- # To be modern is to find ourselves in an environment that… ![“To be modern is to find ourselves in an environment that promises us adventure, power, joy, growth, transformation of ourselves and the world - and at the same time that threatens to destroy everything we have, everything we know, everything we are.” quote by Marshall Berman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e50/marshall-berman-57356_adventure_to-be-modern-is-to-find-ourselves-in-an_88969.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e50/marshall-berman-57356_adventure_to-be-modern-is-to-find-ourselves-in-an_88969.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e50/marshall-berman-57356_adventure_to-be-modern-is-to-find-ourselves-in-an_88969.jpg) > “To be modern is to find ourselves in an environment that promises us adventure, power, joy, growth, transformation of ourselves and the world - and at the same time that threatens to destroy everything we have, everything we know, everything we are.” [Marshall Berman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-berman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Describes modernity as a paradox of exhilarating possibility and existential risk, demanding active navigation. **In simple terms:** Modern life offers both promise and peril. Key Takeaway Balance ambition with awareness of danger. Themes modernity risk growth transformation existential tension Mood urgent thought‑provoking inquisitive Type observation philosophical When to use this quote - career planning - technological adoption - personal development Key Concepts paradox cultural analysis Practical Applications - navigate change wisely - harness transformative energy Questions to Reflect On - What risks do you overlook in pursuit of growth? - How can you safeguard what matters amid change? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adventure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adventure/) [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Duality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/duality/) [Environment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/environment/) [Growth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growth/) [Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joy/) [Modernity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modernity/) [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) [Promise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/promise/) [Transformation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/transformation/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [You and I are the force for transformation in the world. We are the consciousness that will define the nature of the reality we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/you-and-i-are-the-force-for-transformation-in-the-world-we-are-the/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [What you are the world is. And without your transformation, there can be no transformation of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/what-you-are-the-world-is-and-without-your-transformation-there-can/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [Transformation in the world happens when people are healed and start investing in other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-w-smith/transformation-in-the-world-happens-when-people-are-healed-and-start/) [Michael W. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-w-smith/) > [The real transformation of the world comes not from what we are doing but from the consciousness from which we are doing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/the-real-transformation-of-the-world-comes-not-from-what-we-are-doing/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [It was like when we were little kids and we played games on the ivy-covered hillside in the backyard. We were warriors and wizards…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francesca-lia-block/it-was-like-when-we-were-little-kids-and-we-played-games-on-the-ivy-2/) [Francesca Lia Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francesca-lia-block/) > [Resurrection does not simply spell the survival of the soul but requires the transformation of the world as we know it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-schussler-fiorenza/resurrection-does-not-simply-spell-the-survival-of-the-soul-but/) [Elisabeth Schussler Fiorenza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-schussler-fiorenza/) > [To be able to transform societies and economies to low-carbon ones was an amazing challenge. To influence and to facilitate such an important transformation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-espinosa/to-be-able-to-transform-societies-and-economies-to-low-carbon-ones/) [Patricia Espinosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-espinosa/) > [We need a transformation of the world economy and of how we use and share the Earth's resources. We are running out of time.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graciela-chichilnisky/we-need-a-transformation-of-the-world-economy-and-of-how-we-use-and/) [Graciela Chichilnisky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graciela-chichilnisky/) > [Kindness holds the key to the secret of our own transformation and, in the process, of the transformation of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-maalouf/kindness-holds-the-key-to-the-secret-of-our-own-transformation-and-in/) Jean Maalouf > [A master lives in the world of transformation, not the world of loss and gain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-frederick-demartini/a-master-lives-in-the-world-of-transformation-not-the-world-of-loss/) [John Frederick Demartini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-frederick-demartini/) > [“The transformation of the world takes place in your heart.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/the-transformation-of-the-world-takes-place-in-your-heart/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [The transformation of the world is brought about by the transformation of oneself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/the-transformation-of-the-world-is-brought-about-by-the/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [A lot of being a poet consists of willed ignorance. If you woke up from your trance and realized the nature of the life-threatening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/a-lot-of-being-a-poet-consists-of-willed-ignorance-if-you-woke-up/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [This notion that man can, and should, have absolute dominion over the "chaotic" powers of nature and woman...is what ultimately lies behind man's famous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/riane-eisler/this-notion-that-man-can-and-should-have-absolute-dominion-over-the/) [Riane Eisler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/riane-eisler/) > [Only alone can you go into eternity. Only alone can you feel the transcendental light. It is not a shared experience because if it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/only-alone-can-you-go-into-eternity-only-alone-can-you-feel-the/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) ## More by Marshall Berman > [Whoever you are, or want to be, you may not be interested in politics, but politics is interested in you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-berman/whoever-you-are-or-want-to-be-you-may-not-be-interested-in-politics/) [Marshall Berman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-berman/) > [“The sort of individualism that scorns and fears connections with other people as threats to the self's integrity, and the sort of collectivism that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-berman/the-sort-of-individualism-that-scorns-and-fears-connections-with/) [Marshall Berman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-berman/) > [“har anche sakht va ostovar ast dood mishavad va be hava miravad.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-berman/har-anche-sakht-va-ostovar-ast-dood-mishavad-va-be-hava-miravad/) [Marshall Berman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-berman/) > [“The Bronx Mural would end at the end of the Expressway itself, where it interchanges on the way to Westchester and Long Island. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-berman/the-bronx-mural-would-end-at-the-end-of-the-expressway-itself-where/) [Marshall Berman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-berman/) > [We come from ruins, but we're not ruined,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-berman/we-come-from-ruins-but-we-re-not-ruined/) [Marshall Berman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-berman/) [Explore all 6 Marshall Berman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-berman/) ## More Adventure quotes > [I'm trying to write a film with my friend. I'd love to get the thrill of speaking actors making my work even funnier.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-howard/i-m-trying-to-write-a-film-with-my-friend-i-d-love-to-get-the-thrill/) [Russell Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-howard/) > [I painted the words "GREAT ADVENTURE" in Beijing, Dallas, San Francisco, Copenhagen, and Japan. What it means to me is completely different to everybody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-eine/i-painted-the-words-great-adventure-in-beijing-dallas-san-francisco/) [Ben Eine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-eine/) > [I've used the Phoenix Centrifuge to replicate what the body's going to go through on the flight up. I've also done some gravity tests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/i-ve-used-the-phoenix-centrifuge-to-replicate-what-the-body-s-going/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [I have lifted my plane . . . for perhaps a thousand flights and I have never felt her wheels glide from the Earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-markham/i-have-lifted-my-plane-for-perhaps-a-thousand-flights-and-i-have/) [Beryl Markham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beryl-markham/) > [I am attracted to looking at the different things language can mean even in one sometimes quite ordinary utterance. Writing is partly about listening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/i-am-attracted-to-looking-at-the-different-things-language-can-mean/) [Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/) > [What a thrill. You know you've entered new territory when you realise that your outfit cost more than your film.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-yu/what-a-thrill-you-know-you-ve-entered-new-territory-when-you-realise/) Jessica Yu > [“So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned by a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-supertramp-chris-mccandless/so-many-people-live-within-unhappy-circumstances-and-yet-will-not/) Alexander Supertramp Chris McCandless > [A common fallacy in much of the adverse criticism to which science is subjected today is that it claims certainty, infallibility and complete emotional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/a-common-fallacy-in-much-of-the-adverse-criticism-to-which-science-is/) [Cyril Norman Hinshelwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/) > [“Exactly. I think the original tantric Buddhists took notice of was some very wise old people who never studied in their youth, but took…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-niemczura/exactly-i-think-the-original-tantric-buddhists-took-notice-of-was/) [Joe Niemczura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-niemczura/) > [As an adventurer...I try to protect against the downside. I make sure I have covered as many eventualities as I can. In the end,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/as-an-adventurer-i-try-to-protect-against-the-downside-i-make-sure-i/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [“Love can give you such happiness, then can break the very heart it filled, leaving a hole that can never be fixed or protected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-mcleod/love-can-give-you-such-happiness-then-can-break-the-very-heart-it/) Kevin McLeod > [“It always gave Wolf a peculiar thrill thus to tighten his grip upon his stick, thus to wrap himself more closely in his faded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cowper-powys/it-always-gave-wolf-a-peculiar-thrill-thus-to-tighten-his-grip-upon/) [John Cowper Powys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cowper-powys/) > [“It all had to be squeezed and squeezed again, to provide a thrill, to provide enjoyment. What did people mean, with their simply determined…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence-2/it-all-had-to-be-squeezed-and-squeezed-again-to-provide-a-thrill-to/) [D.H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence-2/) > [I am not an adventurous person but I am gutsy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rahul-vaidya/i-am-not-an-adventurous-person-but-i-am-gutsy/) [Rahul Vaidya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rahul-vaidya/) > [Our civilization, bequeathed to us by fierce adventurers, eaters of meat and hunters, is so full of hurry and combat, so busy about many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/our-civilization-bequeathed-to-us-by-fierce-adventurers-eaters-of/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) [Browse all 7,690 Adventure quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adventure/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "To be modern is to find ourselves in an environment that promises us adventure, power, joy, growth, transformation of ourselves and the world - and at the same time that threatens to destroy everything we have, everything we know, everything we are.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Marshall Berman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-berman/to-be-modern-is-to-find-ourselves-in-an-environment-that-promises-us/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Adventure" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-berman/to-be-modern-is-to-find-ourselves-in-an-environment-that-promises-us/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e50/marshall-berman-57356_adventure_to-be-modern-is-to-find-ourselves-in-an_88969.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e50/marshall-berman-57356_adventure_to-be-modern-is-to-find-ourselves-in-an_88969.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e50/marshall-berman-57356_adventure_to-be-modern-is-to-find-ourselves-in-an_88969.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“To be modern is to find ourselves in an environment that promises us adventure, power, joy, growth…” — Marshall Berman", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Marshall Berman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-berman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "To be modern is to find...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-berman/to-be-modern-is-to-find-ourselves-in-an-environment-that-promises-us/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-berman/to-be-modern-is-to-find-ourselves-in-an-environment-that-promises-us/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```