Limitations

I just finished James Alan Gardner's Ascending. I really liked this paragraph:

I stared at him a moment, then closed my eyes. "I will tell you a thing, Nimbus. We are all built in ways we would change if we could -- we are flawed or damaged or broken by forces beyond our control. In the end, we are limited creatures who cannot exceed our boundaries." I opened my eyes again, seeing only mist. "But here is the other half of the truth: our boundaries are never where we think they are. Sometimes we think we are the most wonderful person in the world, then we find we are nothing special; sometimes we think we are too weak to do a great deed, then find we are stronger than we believe."