What was any art but a mould in which to imprison for a moment the shining elusive element which is life itself - life hurrying past us and running away, too strong to stop, too sweet to lose.
Willa CatherRead
That is happiness; to be dissolved into something complete and great.
Interpretation
What this quote means
True happiness comes from immersing oneself in something greater than oneself.
In this quote, Willa Cather suggests that happiness is found not in personal pleasures or achievements alone, but in the act of losing oneself in something larger, more significant, and fulfilling. This could refer to love, art, nature, or any passion that transcends the individual, leading to a sense of completeness and joy.
Themes
HappinessCompleteDissolvedGreatnessFulfillment
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be shared at a graduation speech to inspire students to pursue their passions.
More from Willa Cather
All quotes βOur tree became the talking tree of the fairy tale; legends and stories nestled like birds in its branches.
Willa CatherRead
Writing ought either to be the manufacture of stories for which there is a market demand - a business as safe and commendable as making soap or breakfast foods - or it should be an art, which is always a search for something for which there is no market demand, something new and untried, where the values are intrinsic and have nothing to do with standardized values.
Willa CatherRead
The air and the earth interpenetrated in the warm gusts of spring; the soil was full of sunlight, and the sunlight full of red dust. The air one breathed was saturated with earthy smells, and the grass under foot had a reflection of the blue sky in it.
Willa CatherRead
This is reality, whether you like it or not--all those frivolities of summer, the light and shadow, the living mask of green that trembled over everything, they were lies, and this is what was underneath. This is the truth.
Willa CatherRead
Only solitary men know the full joys of friendship. Others have their family; but to a solitary and an exile, his friends are everything.
Willa CatherRead
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She decides to make a list of the things that make her happy. She writes 'plum-blossom' at the top of a piece of paper. Then she stares at the paper, unable to think of anything else. Eventually it begins to get dark.
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The happiest people seem to be those who have no particular cause for being happy except that they are so.
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Weβve all heard of Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Rossβ five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. In contrast, I realized, happiness has four stages. To eke out the most happiness from an experience we must: anticipate it, savor it as it unfolds, express happiness, and recall a happy memory.
Gretchen RubinRead