Like the collector, the photographer is animated by a passion that, even when it appears to be for the present, is linked to a sense of the past.
I want to be able to be alone, to find it nourishing - not just a waiting.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote expresses the importance of solitude as a source of personal strength and nourishment rather than merely a state of waiting or boredom.
Susan Sontag's quote reflects on the significance of being comfortable in one's own company. It emphasizes the idea that solitude can be a positive and enriching experience, allowing individuals to engage with their thoughts, feelings, and creativity without the distractions of the outside world. This perspective encourages embracing alone time as an opportunity for self-discovery and growth, rather than viewing it as a negative or lonely state.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be shared in a wellness workshop focusing on the benefits of alone time.
More from Susan Sontag
All quotes βScience fiction films are not about science. They are about disaster, which is one of the oldest subjects of art.
Gide and I have attained such perfect intellectual communion that I experience the appropriate labor pains for every thought he gives birth to!
Volume depends precisely on the writer's having been able to sit in a room every day, year after year, alone.
In NY sensuality completely turns into sexuality - no objects for the senses to respond to, no beautiful river, houses, people. Awful smells of the street, and dirt... Nothing except eating, if that, and the frenzy of the bed.
It hurts to love. It's like giving yourself to be flayed and knowing that at any moment the other person may just walk off with your skin.
Similar quotes
Old is authentic. Old is genuine. Old is valuable.
Older people sit down and ask, 'What is it?' but the boy asks, 'What can I do with it?'.
You cannot rise about your words. A lot of people use foul, pornographic, filthy, language and you SEE, all of those words paint pictures and they reveal the internal thinking of the person on the inside. YOU cannot RISE (forward, onward upward) above your words.
Fear, in evolution, has a special prominence: perhaps more than any other emotion it is crucial for survival.
You will not become a saint through other people's sins.
Never lie, never cheat, never steal.