QuoteProject
Why do we smile? Why do we laugh? Why do we feel alone? Why are we sad and confused? Why do we read poetry? Why do we cry when we see a painting? Why is there a riot in the heart when we love? Why do we feel shame? What is that thing in the pit of your stomach called desire?
Benjamin Alire Saenz
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote explores the complexities of human emotions and the reasons behind them.

In this quote, Benjamin Alire Sáenz reflects on the myriad emotions that define the human experience, prompting deep introspection about feelings such as joy, sadness, love, and desire. By asking a series of profound questions, he encourages readers to contemplate the reasons behind their emotional responses and the interconnectedness of art, literature, and individual experiences.

Themes

EmotionsHuman ExperienceArtIntrospectionFeelings

In practice

Example use cases

This quote could be used in a discussion about the importance of understanding our emotions at a psychology seminar.

More from Benjamin Alire Saenz

I wondered about the science of storms and how sometimes it seemed that a storm wanted to break the world and how the world refused to break.
Benjamin Alire SaenzRead
Words were different when they lived inside of you.
Benjamin Alire SaenzRead
I wondered what that was like, to hold someone’s hand. I bet you could sometimes find all of the mysteries of the universe in someone’s hand.
Benjamin Alire SaenzRead
Summer was here again. Summer, summer, summer. I loved and hated summers. Summers had a logic all their own and they always brought something out in me. Summer was supposed to be about freedom and youth and no school and possibilities and adventure and exploration. Summer was a book of hope. That's why I loved and hated summers. Because they made me want to believe.
Benjamin Alire SaenzRead

Similar quotes

War is not merely a political act but a real political instrument, a continuation of political intercourse, a carrying out of the same by other means.
Carl Von ClausewitzRead
Every living being is an engine geared to the wheelwork of the universe. Though seemingly affected only by its immediate surrounding, the sphere of external influence extends to infinite distance.
Nikola TeslaRead
It may be thought justifiable to require tests on animals of potentially life-saving drugs, but the same kinds of tests are used for products like cosmetics, food coloring, and floor polishes. Should thousands of animals suffer so that a new kind of lipstick or floor wax can be put on the market? Don't we already have an excess of most of these products? Who benefits from their introduction, except the companies that hope to profit from them?
Peter SingerRead
If... we choose death rather than true life, God does not take away the power that He gave us. And not only does He not take it away, but He reminds us of it again and again. From the dawn till the dusk of life? For, indeed, no one can come to Christ, as He Himself said in the Gospels, unless the Father draws him (cf. Jn. 6:44).
Gregory PalamasRead
Choosing one path means abandoning others - if you try to follow every possible path you will end up following none.
Paulo CoelhoRead
Abandon hope, all ye who enter here. [Omnes relinquite spes, o vos intrantes]
Dante AlighieriRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.