We have to realize that we are as deeply afraid to live and to love as we are to die.
R. D. LaingRead
Our 'normal' 'adjusted' state is too often the abdication of ecstasy, the betrayal of our true potentialities.
Interpretation
What this quote means
We often settle for a mundane existence, missing out on our true potential and joy.
R. D. Laing highlights that the way we typically live, which we may consider 'normal', often leads us to abandon our true passions and potentials. This 'adjusted' state can become a form of betrayal to our authentic selves, suggesting that many people live far below their capacity for joy and ecstasy.
Themes
NormalPotentialEcstasyBetrayalLife
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech to encourage individuals to pursue their passions.
More from R. D. Laing
All quotes βMadness need not be all breakdown. It may also be break-through. It is potential liberation and renewal as well as enslavement and existential death.
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Whether life is worth living depends on whether there is love in life.
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The experience and behavior that gets labeled schizophrenic is a special strategy that a person invents in order to live in an unlivable situation.
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The range of what we think and do is limited by what we fail to notice.
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Here we have the paradox, the potentially tragic paradox, that our relatedness to others is an essential aspect of our being, as is our separateness, but any particular person is not a necessary part of our being.
R. D. LaingRead
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