QuoteProject
My own ambition, my deepest and truest ambition, is to find within myself someday, somehow, the ability to do likewise, to do NOTHING - and find it enough.
Edward Abbey
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote emphasizes the importance of finding contentment in simplicity and stillness.

Edward Abbey expresses a profound desire to reach a state where doing nothing is considered enough, highlighting the struggle between ambition and the quest for inner peace. He suggests that true fulfillment may come from embracing stillness and simplicity rather than constant activity or achievement.

Themes

ContentmentStillnessSimplicityAmbitionInner Peace

In practice

Example use cases

During a mindfulness retreat, this quote can be shared to inspire others to appreciate silence and stillness.

More from Edward Abbey

Married couples who quarrel bitterly every day may really need each other as deeply as those who appear to be desperately in love.
Edward AbbeyRead
I love America because it is a confused, chaotic mess - and I hope we can keep it this way for at least another thousand years. The permissive society is the free society.
Edward AbbeyRead
If it's knowledge and wisdom you want, then seek out the company of those who do real work for an honest purpose.
Edward AbbeyRead
The earth is real. Only a fool, milking his cow, denies the cow's reality.
Edward AbbeyRead
I believe in nothing that I cannot touch, kiss, embrace.... The rest is only hearsay.
Edward AbbeyRead
Why can't we simply borrow what is useful to us from Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, especially Zen, as we borrow from Christianity, science, American Indian traditions and world literature in general, including philosophy, and let the rest go hang? Borrow what we need but rely principally upon our own senses, common sense and daily living experience.
Edward AbbeyRead

Similar quotes

I was going to be a surgeon at one point, and I remember being taught that the surgical heroes aren't the ones that can staunch the bleeding; what you want is the surgeon that doesn't cause any bleeding in the first place.
Norman SwanRead
Cheating is a sin, but honest cunning is simply prudence. It is a virtue. To be sure, it has a likeness to roguery, but that cannot be helped. He who has not learned to practice it is a fool.
Giacomo CasanovaRead
More and more I believe in the fact that you have two hands and two legs, and the thing is how to make good use of yourself - and that's about it.
Bruce LeeRead
The greenhorn is the ultimate victor in everything; it is he that gets the most out of life.
Gilbert K. ChestertonRead
In the search [of a deal], we adopt the same attitude one might find appropriate in looking for a spouse: It pays to be active, interested, and open-minded, but it does not pay to be in a hurry.
Warren BuffettRead
When the world throws you too much information, the only way you can stay sane or survive is to look for pattern recognition. Amidst all the blurs, is there a constellation that emerges, is there a straight line that's emerging?
Douglas CouplandRead

A little wisdom, now and then

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