chirysalis’s Reviews > The Wisdom of Insecurity: A Message for an Age of Anxiety > Status Update

"Generally speaking, the civilized man does not know what he wants. He works for success, fame, a happy marriage, fun, to help other people, or to be a “real person.” But these are not real wants because they are not actual things. They are the by-products, the flavors and atmospheres of real things—shadows which have no existence apart from some substance."

*numbnuts

"Despite the immense hubbub and nervous strain, we are convinced that sleep is a waste of valuable time and continue to chase these fantasies far into the night."

"Part of man’s frustration is that he has become accustomed to expect language and thought to offer explanations which they cannot give."

"The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance."

"We seem to be like flies caught in honey. Because life is sweet we do not want to give it up, and yet the more we become involved in it, the more we are trapped, limited, and frustrated. We love it and hate it at the same time. We fall in love with people and possessions only to be tortured by anxiety for them."

"[...] nature has conceived intelligence in us to berate itself for absurdity. Consciousness seems to be nature’s ingenious mode of self-torture."

"[...] there is a price to be paid for every increase in consciousness. We cannot be more sensitive to pleasure without being more sensitive to pain."

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"to suffer is as human as to breathe"

"If to enjoy even an enjoyable present we must have the assurance of a happy future, we are “crying for the moon.” We have no such assurance."

"So many people of wealth understand much more about making and saving money than about using and enjoying it. They fail to live because they are always preparing to live."