If we are to move towards our collective bliss, it's time we shed our focus on the physical.

Attributed to Janine Shepherd, the line urges a shift away from defining happiness (“collective bliss”) primarily through material or bodily concerns. “Shed our focus on the physical” can be read as a call to loosen identification with appearance, possessions, status, or even physical limitation, and to re-center attention on inner life—meaning, compassion, consciousness, and shared purpose. In Shepherd’s broader public themes (resilience after catastrophic injury), such a sentiment often aligns with the idea that fulfillment is not contingent on bodily perfection but on perspective and values. The quote’s significance lies in its communal framing: personal transformation is presented as a prerequisite for a healthier, more humane society.