Love is generally confused with dependence; but in point of fact, you can love only in proportion to your capacity for independence.
Rollo MayRead
Creativity is the result of a struggle between vitality and form. As anyone who has tried to write a sonnet or scan poetry, is aware, the form ideally do not take away from the creativity but may add to it.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Creativity stems from balancing freedom and structure, where constraints can enhance rather than hinder artistic expression.
The quote by Rollo May emphasizes that creativity arises from the dynamic tension between the energy of life (vitality) and the limitations of established forms (structure). This struggle can lead to innovative artistic expressions, suggesting that boundaries can actually serve to inspire creativity rather than stifle it, especially in structured artistic endeavors like poetry.
Themes
CreativityStruggleArtFormVitality
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the writing process at a writers' workshop.
More from Rollo May
All quotes →To 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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