Married couples who quarrel bitterly every day may really need each other as deeply as those who appear to be desperately in love.
Edward AbbeyRead
I am hopeful, though not full of hope, and the only reason I don't believe in happy endings is because I don't believe in endings.
Interpretation
The quote conveys a sense of optimism without certainty in outcomes, emphasizing a belief in the ongoing journey rather than final conclusions.
Edward Abbey reflects on the nature of hope and endings in this quote. He expresses a nuanced view that while he remains hopeful about the future, he doesn't fully embrace the concept of 'happy endings' because he perceives life as a continuous process without definitive conclusions. This perspective suggests that the journey itself is more important than reaching a specific endpoint, inviting us to value the experiences along the way.
In practice
This quote could inspire a discussion about resilience during difficult times.
Married couples who quarrel bitterly every day may really need each other as deeply as those who appear to be desperately in love.
I love America because it is a confused, chaotic mess - and I hope we can keep it this way for at least another thousand years. The permissive society is the free society.
If it's knowledge and wisdom you want, then seek out the company of those who do real work for an honest purpose.
The earth is real. Only a fool, milking his cow, denies the cow's reality.
I believe in nothing that I cannot touch, kiss, embrace.... The rest is only hearsay.
Why can't we simply borrow what is useful to us from Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, especially Zen, as we borrow from Christianity, science, American Indian traditions and world literature in general, including philosophy, and let the rest go hang? Borrow what we need but rely principally upon our own senses, common sense and daily living experience.
Madness, mayhem, erotic vandalism, devastation of innumerable souls - while we scream and perish, History licks a finger and turns the page.
The paradoxes of today are the prejudices of tomorrow, since the most benighted and the most deplorable prejudices have had their moment of novelty when fashion lent them its fragile grace.
Miracles are instantaneous, they cannot be summoned, but come of themselves, usually at unlikely moments and to those who least expect them.
The final test of a gentleman is his respect for those who can be of no possible service to him.
My thesis topic was 'The value of a human life.' I asked people a question: 'Suppose you had some risk, a one in a thousand risk of dying - how much would you pay to eliminate it?'
Public opinion in this country is everything.
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