Because neither she nor Port had ever lived a life of any kind of regularity, they had both made the fatal error of coming hazily to regard time as non-existent. One year was like another year. Eventually everything would happen.
Paul BowlesRead
The act of living had been enjoyable; at some point when I was not paying attention, it had turned into a different sort of experience, to whose grimness I had grown so accustomed that I now took it for granted.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Life can shift from enjoyment to a grim experience without us noticing.
This quote reflects on the subtle transformation that can occur in our daily lives, where joy can fade into a mundane or grim reality without us being fully aware of the change. It speaks to the importance of mindfulness and awareness in our experiences, urging us to appreciate the enjoyable aspects before they become overshadowed by discomfort or routine.
Themes
LifeExperienceAwarenessEnjoymentChange
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech about the importance of mindfulness.
More from Paul Bowles
All quotes βWhereas the tourist generally hurries back home at the end of a few weeks or months, the traveler belonging no more to one place than to the next, moves slowly over periods of years, from one part of the earth to another. Indeed, he would have found it difficult to tell, among the many places he had lived, precisely where it was he had felt most at home.
Paul BowlesRead
I've always wanted to get as far as possible from the place where I was born. Far both geographically and spiritually. To leave it behind ... I feel that life is very short and the world is there to see and one should know as much about it as possible. One belongs to the whole world, not just one part of it.
Paul BowlesRead
Each time I go to a place I have not seen before I hope it will be as different as possible from the places I already know. I assume it is natural for a traveler to seek diversity, and that it is the human element that makes him most aware of difference. If people and their manner of living were alike everywhere, there would not be much point in moving from one place to another.
Paul BowlesRead
[A]nother important difference between tourist and traveler is that the former accepts his own civilization without question; not so the traveler, who compares it with the others, and rejects those elements he finds not to his liking.
Paul BowlesRead
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