It is in books, poems, paintings which often give us the confidence to take seriously feelings in ourselves that we might otherwise never have thought to acknowledge.
Alain De BottonRead
Emotional life is - alongside work - one of the great challenges of existence and is a theme that I keep returning to.
Interpretation
Emotional life poses significant challenges that are essential to our existence.
Alain De Botton highlights the complexity of emotional life as a fundamental aspect of human existence, akin to the challenges of work. He emphasizes that navigating our emotions is a recurring theme in life that requires continual reflection and understanding.
In practice
This quote can be used in a workshop focused on emotional intelligence.
It is in books, poems, paintings which often give us the confidence to take seriously feelings in ourselves that we might otherwise never have thought to acknowledge.
Taking architecture seriously therefore makes some singular and strenuous demands upon us...It means conceding that we are inconveniently vulnerable to the colour of our wallpaper and that our sense of purpose may be derailed by an unfortunate bedspread
The more closely we analyze what we consider 'sexy,' the more clearly we will understand that eroticism is the feeling of excitement we experience at finding another human being who shares our values and our sense of the meaning of existence.
Good books put a finger on emotions that are deeply our own - but that we could never have described on our own.
The challenge of modern relationships: how to prove more interesting than the other's smartphone.
It is the most ambitious and driven among us who are the most sorely in need of having our reckless hopes dampened through immersive dousings in the darkness which religions have explored. This is a particular priority for secular Americans, perhaps the most anxious and disappointed people on earth, for their nation infuses them with the most extreme hopes about what they may be able to achieve in their working lives and relationships.
It is perfectly possible to be enamoured of Paris while remaining totally indifferent or even hostile to the French.
When our hatred is violent, it sinks us even beneath those we hate.
Beauty endures only for as long as it can be seen; goodness, beautiful today, will remain so tomorrow.
The sad and horrible conclusion is that no one cared that Jews were being murdered... This is the Jewish lesson of the Holocaust and this is the lesson which Auschwitz taught us.
There can be many opinions on a thing, but there is only one truth." Vashet smiled lazily. "And if the pursuit of the truth was my goal, that would concern me." She gave a long yawn, stretching like a happy cat. "Instead I will focus on the joy in my heart, [...}
Longing is a compass that guides us through life. We may never get what we really want, that's true, but every step along the way will be determined by it.
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