We're our own dragons as well as our own heroes, and we have to rescue ourselves from ourselves.
Tom RobbinsRead
Love makes the world go 'round, it's true, but lust stops the world in its tracks; love renders bearable the passage of time, lust causes time to stand still, lust kills time, which is not to say that it wastes it or whiles it aimlessly away but rather that it annihilates it, cancels it, extirpates it from continuum; preventing, while lasts, any lapse into the tense and shabby woes of temporal society, lust is the thousand-pound odometer needle on the dashboard of the absolute.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Love enriches our experience of life, while lust creates a fleeting and intense pause in our perception of time.
In this quote, Tom Robbins explores the contrasting effects of love and lust on our experience of time. Love is depicted as a force that enhances and makes life meaningful, allowing us to endure life's challenges, while lust is portrayed as a powerful yet transient motion that captivates our attention and isolates us from the everyday flow of time, ultimately creating moments of intensity that can overshadow the larger experiences of love and life.
Themes
LoveLustTimeExperienceEmotion
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used during a wedding speech to highlight the enduring nature of love compared to fleeting moments of passion.
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Tom RobbinsRead
On their sofas of spice and feathers, the concubines also slept fretfully. In those days the Earth was still flat, and people dreamed often of falling over edges.
Tom RobbinsRead
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