We're our own dragons as well as our own heroes, and we have to rescue ourselves from ourselves.
Tom RobbinsRead
My desire was no less than before, you understand, but I no longer identified with the desire. Perhaps that is why taking them too seriously, we not only increase our susceptibility to disappointment, we actually create a climate inhospitable to the free and easy fulfillment of those desires.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Desires remain but should not define us; being overly attached to them leads to dissatisfaction.
In this quote, Tom Robbins expresses the idea that while our desires may persist, our identity should not be intertwined with them. This detachment allows us to experience desires more freely without the fear of disappointment, fostering an environment where those desires can be fulfilled more easily. By not taking our desires too seriously, we create a healthier mindset that enables the possibilities of achieving them.
Themes
DesireIdentityAttachmentDisappointmentFulfillment
In practice
Example use cases
During a motivational seminar, to emphasize the importance of detachment from desires.
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Tom RobbinsRead
The Divine was beyond description, beyond knowing, beyond comprehension. To say that the Divine was Creation divided by Destruction was as close as one could come to definition. But the puny of soul, the dull of wit, weren't content with that. They wanted to hang a face on the Divine. They went so far as to attribute petty human emotions - anger, jealousy, etc - to it, not stopping to realize that if God were a being, even a supreme being, our prayers would have bored him to death long ago.
Tom RobbinsRead
On their sofas of spice and feathers, the concubines also slept fretfully. In those days the Earth was still flat, and people dreamed often of falling over edges.
Tom RobbinsRead
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