We must beware the revenge of the starved senses, the embittered animal in its prison.
J. B. PriestleyRead
We plan, we toil, we suffer - in the hope of what? A camel-load of idol's eyes? The title deeds of Radio City? The empire of Asia? A trip to the moon? No, no, no, no. Simply to wake just in time to smell coffee and bacon and eggs.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on the simplicity of life and the joy found in everyday moments rather than grand aspirations.
J. B. Priestley's quote highlights the contrast between our ambitious plans and the mundane joys of daily life. It suggests that while we often chase significant achievements and accolades, the true essence of happiness lies in appreciating simple pleasures, like waking up to the aroma of coffee and a hearty breakfast. This reveals a deeper message about the value of living in the moment and finding contentment in the ordinary.
Themes
LifeHappinessSimplicityContentmentEveryday
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about work-life balance, one might say, 'As J. B. Priestley highlighted, sometimes it's the little things, like waking up to coffee and bacon, that truly matter.'
More from J. B. Priestley
All quotes →But some of us are beginning to pull well away, in our irritation, from...the exquisite tasters, the vintage snobs, the three-star Michelin gourmets. There is, we feel, a decent area somewhere between boiled carrots and Beluga caviare, sour plonk and Chateau Lafitte, where we can take care of our gullets and bellies without worshipping them.
J. B. PriestleyRead
A novelist who writes nothing for 10 years finds his reputation rising. Because I keep on producing books they say there must be something wrong with this fellow.
J. B. PriestleyRead
Much of writing might be described as mental pregnancy with successive difficult deliveries.
J. B. PriestleyRead
There is romance, the genuine glinting stuff, in typewriters, and not merely in their development from clumsy giants into agile dwarfs, but in the history of their manufacture, which is filled with raids, battles, lonely pioneers, great gambles, hope, fear, despair, triumph. If some of our novels could be written by the typewriters instead of on them, how much better they would be.
J. B. PriestleyRead
No matter how piercing and appalling his insights, the desolation_x000D_ creeping over his outer world, the lurid lights and shadows of his inner_x000D_ world, the writer must live with hope, work in faith
J. B. PriestleyRead
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