Like the collector, the photographer is animated by a passion that, even when it appears to be for the present, is linked to a sense of the past.
I want to be able to be alone, to find it nourishing - not just a waiting.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote expresses the importance of solitude as a source of personal strength and nourishment rather than merely a state of waiting or boredom.
Susan Sontag's quote reflects on the significance of being comfortable in one's own company. It emphasizes the idea that solitude can be a positive and enriching experience, allowing individuals to engage with their thoughts, feelings, and creativity without the distractions of the outside world. This perspective encourages embracing alone time as an opportunity for self-discovery and growth, rather than viewing it as a negative or lonely state.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be shared in a wellness workshop focusing on the benefits of alone time.
More from Susan Sontag
All quotes βScience fiction films are not about science. They are about disaster, which is one of the oldest subjects of art.
Gide and I have attained such perfect intellectual communion that I experience the appropriate labor pains for every thought he gives birth to!
Volume depends precisely on the writer's having been able to sit in a room every day, year after year, alone.
In NY sensuality completely turns into sexuality - no objects for the senses to respond to, no beautiful river, houses, people. Awful smells of the street, and dirt... Nothing except eating, if that, and the frenzy of the bed.
It hurts to love. It's like giving yourself to be flayed and knowing that at any moment the other person may just walk off with your skin.
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To receive applause for works which do not demand all our powers hinders our advance towards a perfecting of our spirit. It usually means that thereafter we stand still.
The common man is not concerned about the passage of time, the man of talent is driven by it.
Some people are always grumbling because roses have thorns; I am thankful that thorns have roses.