literature quotes

quotes from books, both fiction & nonfiction | @lit.snaps on instagram & threads | sister blog of @quotespile

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[suliqyre]

We know that freedom means responsibility and we do not like this because it seems to imply that we have to be careful with our choices. For each and every decision we make, we could also choose otherwise, which means it is always possible to make the wrong choice. We want instead to be free without responsibility, to be able to choose without having to consider the consequences.

But as we cannot do this without risking enormous harm, we need to examine more closely the relationship between freedom and responsibility. If we can see that our actions must follow from our responsibility to ourselves and the people around us, then suddenly those actions are no longer mere products of contingent choice but also necessary ones.

It is precisely the feeling of absolute contingency that produces so much anxiety over our most important choices. It is because we know we could be pulled away from what is best by another option we might want more or fear less that freedom can feel like a curse instead of a blessing.

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[litsnaps]

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[suliqyre]

When we're given the option of doing something difficult, we usually don't take it. Unless there is the possibility of a valuable reward, we would rather do something else that is easy and pleasurable. We would prefer to leave the more challenging work for others, for those who we think are more able or talented than we are.

If we do this repeatedly, we might become entirely passive, doing as little as possible and living as mere consumers of the world, observing but never acting. Without challenging ourselves we cannot discover the enormous value of creativity. We will instead see creation as outside our wheelhouse, thus limiting the scope of our lives and cutting ourselves off from the possibility of joy.

Joy comes from creative action and what is most creative is also necessarily challenging. Genuine creativity is always difficult because it means doing what has never been done before. To engage with the world creatively is to willingly take on this formidable task. It means pushing yourself into new territory you have not yet explored and allowing yourself to play there.

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[litsnaps]

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[suliqyre]

There are many needs I am aware of: I need food to eat, I need shelter from inclement weather, I need connections with other human beings, and so on. I also know how to meet these needs. I know that if I feel hungry, I need to eat. I know that if I'm cold and wet, I need to find a place that is warm and dry. I know that if I feel lonely, I need to seek out other people. For each signal of need, the necessary response is already known because of my past experiences.

But what if I experience a signal for which I do not know the appropriate response? I might then try to seek out information from others to see if they know the need and how to meet it. Or I might try to experiment, following the thought that since the signal is similar to other signals, the solution might also be similar.

In the end, I might try several things and the signal will still persist. This can easily happen when it takes the form of general malaise, despair, or melancholy. Here, the signal does not seem to tell me which need is unmet and trying to analyze it does not reveal any obvious course of action.

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