You are 27 or 28 right? It is very tough to live at that age. When nothing is sure. I have sympathy with you.
Haruki MurakamiRead
I'm not sure if I could tell the difference—between just staring into space and thinking. We're usually thinking all the time, aren't we? Not that we live in order to think, but the opposite isn't true either—that we think in order to live. I believe, contrary to Descartes, that we sometimes think in order not to be. Staring into space might unintentionally have the opposite effect.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote explores the interplay between thinking and existence, suggesting that sometimes our thoughts may distract us from living.
Haruki Murakami's quote reflects on the nature of thought and existence, questioning the distinction between mere contemplation and the deeper act of living. He suggests that thinking is a constant activity for humans, but instead of being a vital part of life, it may, at times, serve as a barrier to true existence, leading to a form of distraction rather than engagement with life itself. Murakami challenges the traditional notions proposed by philosophers like Descartes, emphasizing that the act of thinking can sometimes hinder rather than enhance our experience of being.
Themes
ThinkingExistenceLifePhilosophyConsciousness
In practice
Example use cases
In a philosophy class discussing the nature of existence.
More from Haruki Murakami
All quotes →They take the circuits out of people’s brains that make it possible for them to think for themselves. Their world is like the one that George Orwell depicted in his novel. I’m sure you realize that there are plenty of people who are looking for exactly that kind of brain death. It makes life a lot easier. You don’t have to think about difficult things, just shut up and do what your superiors tell you to do.
Haruki MurakamiRead
Memories and thoughts age, just as people do. But certain thoughts can never age, and certain memories can never fade.
Haruki MurakamiRead
I think you still love me, but we can’t escape the fact that I’m not enough for you. I knew this was going to happen. So I’m not blaming you for falling in love with another woman. I’m not angry, either. I should be, but I’m not. I just feel pain. A lot of pain. I thought I could imagine how much this would hurt, but I was wrong.
Haruki MurakamiRead
Everybody burns out in this world; amateur, pro, it doesn't matter, they all burn out, they all get hurt, the OK guys and the not-OK guys both. That's why everybody takes out a little insurance. I've got some too, here at the bottom of the heap. That way, you manage to survive if you burn out. If you're all by yourself and don't belong anywhere, you go down once, and you're out. Finished.
Haruki MurakamiRead
Life is so uncertain: you never know what could happen. One way to deal with that is to keep your pajamas washed.
Haruki MurakamiRead
Similar quotes
Like the British Constitution, she owes her success in practice to her inconsistencies in principle.
Thomas HardyRead
Where annual elections end where slavery begins.
John Quincy AdamsRead
We are all interested in the future, for that is where you and I are going to spend the rest of our lives.
Woody AllenRead
Somehow, knowing that Alzheimer's is coming mocks all one's aspirations - to tell stories, to think through certain issues as only a novel can do, to be recognised for one's accomplishments and hard work - in a way that old familiar death does not.
Jane SmileyRead
Adults...struggle desperately with fiction, demanding constantly that it conform to the rules of everyday life. Adults foolishly demand to know how Superman can possibly fly, or how Batman can possibly run a multibillion-dollar business empire during the day and fight crime at night, when the answer is obvious even to the smallest child: because it's not real.
Grant MorrisonRead
Nobody these days holds the written word in such high esteem as police states do.
Italo CalvinoRead