Jump off. You are a protected individual. Do not fear.
Henry MillerRead
Do anything, but let it produce joy. Do anything, but let it yield ecstasy.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the importance of pursuing activities that bring joy and ecstasy.
Henry Miller's quote highlights the fundamental human desire for happiness and fulfillment. It suggests that regardless of the task at hand, the ultimate goal should be to engage in actions that lead to joy and a sense of ecstasy, thus underlining the principle that happiness should be the driving force behind our endeavors.
In practice
Opening a motivational speech about the pursuit of happiness.
Jump off. You are a protected individual. Do not fear.
I saw through to the last sign and symbol, but I could not read her face. I could see only the eyes shining through, huge, fleshy-like luminous beasts, as though I were swimming behind them in the electric effluvia of her incandescent vision.
The essential thing is to WANT to sing. This then is a song. I am singing.
Great God! What have I turned into? What right have you people to clutter up my life, steal my time, probe my soul, suckle my thoughts, have me for your companion, confidant, and information bureau? What do you take me for? Am I an entertainer on salary, required every evening to play an intellectual farce under your stupid noses? Am I a slave, bought and paid for, to crawl on my belly in front of you idlers and lay at your feet all that I do and all that I know?
We are swimming on the face of time and all else has drowned, is drowning, or will drown.
To sing you must first open your mouth. You must have a pair of lungs, and a little knowledge of music. It is not necessary to have an accordion, or a guitar. The essential thing is to want to sing. This then is a song. I am singing.
A way of life that keeps saying 'Around the next corner, above the next step,' works against the natural order of things and makes it so difficult to be happy and good.
Men have physical needs, and they have emotions. While physical needs are unsatisfied, they take first place; but when they are satisfied, emotions unconnected with them become important in deciding whether a man is to be happy or unhappy.
I'm fulfilled in what I do. I never thought that a lot of money or fine clothes - the finer things of life - would make you happy. My concept of happiness is to be filled in a spiritual sense.
The only way to avoid being miserable is not to have enough leisure to wonder whether you are happy or not.
Happiness canβt be reduced to a few agreeable sensations. Rather, it is a way of being and of experiencing the worldβa profound fulfillment that suffuses every moment and endures despite inevitable setbacks.
What humans want is not just happiness. They want justice; they want meaning.
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