Norwegian here. I can't really translate your first quote, but a better translation of the second one is: " 'If it were possible to wait for one-self to enter

Norwegian here. I can't really translate your first quote, but a better translation of the second one is: " 'If it were possible to wait for one-self to enter a room', the British author Rebecca West wrote, 'then there is not many of us who would feel their heart swell in expectation when we heard the door-handle being pushed down.' This is a dark and provoking image, but perhaps it can be taken as a starting point for our struggle to improve ourselves: to attempt to become such that one feels a thrill of joy when that door is opened."