The indefatigable pursuit of an unattainable perfection -even though nothing more than the pounding of an old piano -is what alone gives a meaning to our life on this unavailing star.
Logan Pearsall SmithRead
This nice and subtle happiness of reading, this joy not chilled by age, this polite and unpunished vice, this selfish, serene life-long intoxication.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Reading brings a timeless joy that is both indulgent and fulfilling.
In this quote, Logan Pearsall Smith eloquently describes the profound happiness derived from reading. He emphasizes how this joy remains unaffected by the passage of time and is perceived as a harmless pleasure, presenting reading as an enriching and blissful escape that can be cherished throughout one's life.
Themes
HappinessReadingJoyIntoxicationLife
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the importance of literature in education.
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Oh, how desperately bored, in spite of their grim determination to have a Good Time, the majority of pleasure-seekers really are!
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If you are unhappy, even the moon irritates you, sweet things nauseate, music disturbs. When you are calm and centered inside, noise is musical, clouds are magical, rain is liquid love.
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I'm trying to broaden the scope of positive psychology well beyond the smiley face. Happiness is just one-fifth of what human beings choose to do.
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The key to human happiness lies within our own state of mind, and so too do the primary obstacles to that happiness.
Dalai LamaRead
Now I am in the place I call this wide wide Heaven because it includes all my simplest desires but also the most humble and grand. The word my grandfather uses is comfort. So there are cakes and pillows and colors galore, but underneath this more obvious patchwork quilt are places like a quiet room where you can go and hold someone's hand and not have to say anything. Give no story. Make no claim. Where you can live at the edge of your skin for as long as you wish.
Alice SeboldRead