Knowing me, I'll write something long-winded and self-deprecatingly pompous about it soon enough, so be sure to check back! But while I'm only a quarter of the way in, I wanted to share this quote from page 104:
So deep is our histrionic instinct that we often forget that we have real lives to live off stage. And so we sweat and labor and go through life, living not for ourselves in accordance with our true instincts, but for the approval of society, like "old spinsters working their needles to make wedding dresses for other women," as the Chinese saying goes.Why do I love this? The book was published in 1937.
Human beings: We never change.
THAT!
ReplyDeleteThis quote is so accurate - and I bet for many more people than would care to admit. Though - at least if goes for me - it is not so easy to know what your true instincts are, when you are constantly showered with how your life should be.
Annie :)
Very true words...he actually talks about that exact thing: how you get so wrapped up in all the messages the outside world is throwing your way that you don't even know how to find yourself. And there are so many other quotes in this book that are so applicable to both this topic and many others that we deal with today! I just finished a section on women, and while some of it was extremely outdated (and offensive in places), he was unbelievably insightful in terms of talking about how oversexualizing women has led to an epidemic in shallow, insincere relationships and unrealistic, juvenile expectations among men. It all sounded so modern, I could hardly believe it was written 80 years ago...
DeleteGood article. Follow back
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