Love is generally confused with dependence; but in point of fact, you can love only in proportion to your capacity for independence.
Rollo MayRead
The cooperative, loving side of existence goes hand in hand with coping and power, but neither the one nor the other can be neglected if life is to be gratifying.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Life is fulfilling when we balance cooperation, love, and personal strength.
Rollo May's quote emphasizes the importance of integrating both the cooperative and loving aspects of existence with the need for individual coping mechanisms and personal power. To lead a gratifying life, one must not overlook the significance of forming connections with others while also nurturing one's inner strength and resilience.
Themes
CooperationLoveExistencePowerGratification
In practice
Example use cases
In a workshop on team dynamics, this quote can underline the importance of collaboration.
More from Rollo May
All quotes βTo love means to open ourselves to the negative as well as the positive - to grief, sorrow, and disappointment as well as to joy, fulfillment, and an intensity of consciousness we did not know was possible before
Rollo MayRead
Terrorism and the whole drug scene are vivid examples of the fact that what persons abhor most of all in life is the possibility that they will not matter.
Rollo MayRead
Humor is the healthy way of feeling "distance" between one's self and the problem, a way of standing off and looking at one's problem with perspective.
Rollo MayRead
Beauty is the experience that gives us a sense of joy and a sense of peace simultaneously.
Rollo MayRead
The poet, like the lover, is a menace on the assembly line.
Rollo MayRead
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