In the works of Lucretius, we find two reasons why we shouldn’t worry about death. If you have had a successful life, Lucretius tell us, there’s no reason to mind its end. And, if you haven’t had a good time, “Why do you seek to add more years, which would also pass but ill?”
ALAIN DE BOTTONJourneys are the midwives of thought. Few places are more conducive to internal conversations than moving planes, ships or trains.
More Alain de Botton Quotes
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Everyone returns us to a different sense of ourselves, for we become a little of who they think we are.
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In the gap between who we wish one day to be and who we are at present, must come pain, anxiety, envy and humiliation.
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Good sex isn’t just fun, it keeps us sane and happy. Having sex with someone makes us feel wanted, alive and potent.
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There’s a whole category of people who miss out by not allowing themselves to be weird enough.
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Feeling lost, crazy and desperate belongs to a good life as much as optimism, certainty and reason.
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The materialistic view of happiness of our age starkly revealed in our understanding of the word “luxury.
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Every realistic picture represents a choice as to which features of reality should be given prominence; no painting ever captures the whole.
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Don’t despair: despair suggests you are in total control and know what is coming. You don’t – surrender to events with hope.
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The problem isn’t so much finding good ideas (there is no shortage) as embedding the ones we have into everyday practice.
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As victims of hurt, we frequently don’t bring up what ails us, because so many wounds look absurd in the light of day.
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Socrates, on being insulted in the marketplace, asked by a passerby, “Don’t you worry about being called names?” retorted, “Why? Do you think I should resent it if an ass had kicked me?
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I learnt to stop fantasising about the perfect job or the perfect relationship because that can actually be an excuse for not living.
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You have to be quite heavily invested in someone to do them the honour of telling them you’re annoyed with them.
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Most of us still caged within careers chosen for us by our not entirely worldly 18-22 year old selves.
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Journeys are the midwives of thought. Few places are more conducive to internal conversations than moving planes, ships or trains.
ALAIN DE BOTTON