Some deny the existence of misery by pointing to the sun; he denies the existence of the sun by pointing to misery.
Franz KafkaRead
Just think how many thoughts a blanket smothers while one lies alone in bed, and how many unhappy dreams it keeps warm.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on the solitude of being in bed, where one's thoughts can linger, often leading to unhappiness.
Franz Kafka's quote explores the introspective nature of solitude, particularly when lying alone in bed under a blanket. It suggests that while a blanket provides warmth and comfort, it also metaphorically conceals and nurtures a multitude of thoughts and troubled dreams that come to life during moments of stillness and isolation. This highlights the complexity of human consciousness and how our minds can become a source of both comfort and distress.
Themes
ThoughtsDreamsSolitudeBedKafka
In practice
Example use cases
In a meditation seminar, to illustrate the importance of calming one's thoughts.
More from Franz Kafka
All quotes βOne can disintegrate the world by means of very strong light. For weak eyes the world becomes solid, for still weaker eyes it seems to develop fists, for eyes weaker still it becomes shamefaced and smashes anyone who dares to gaze upon it.
Franz KafkaRead
But Gregor understood easily that it was not only consideration for him which prevented their moving, for he could easily have been transported in a suitable crate with a few air holes; what mainly prevented the family from moving was their complete hopelessness and the thought that they had been struck by a misfortune as none of their relatives and acquaintances had ever been hit.
Franz KafkaRead
Association with human beings lures one into self-observation.
Franz KafkaRead
A non-writing writer is a monster courting insanity.
Franz KafkaRead
The ulterior motives with which you absorb and assimilate Evil are not your own but those of Evil. _x000D_ The animal wrests the whip from its master and whips itself in order to become master, not knowing that this is only a fantasy produced by a new knot in the master's whiplash.
Franz KafkaRead
Similar quotes
Capitalism is out of control, thanks in no small part to Citizens United, the Supreme Court decision which said that a corporation is a person, even though it doesn't eat, drink, make love, sing, raise children or take care of aging parents. You can't have a people's democracy as long as corporations are considered people.
Bill MoyersRead
Philosophers should consider the fact that the greatest happiness principle can easily be made an excuse for a benevolent dictatorship. We should replace it by a more modest and more realistic principle - the principle that the fight against avoidable misery should be a recognized aim of public policy, while the increase of happiness should be left, in the main, to private initiative.
Karl PopperRead
For we cannot adequately understand 'man' as an isolated biological creature, as a bundle of reflexes or a set of instincts, as an 'intelligible field' or a system in and of itself. Whatever else he may be, man is a social and an historical actor who must be understood, if at all, in close and intricate interplay with social and historical structures
C. Wright MillsRead
In adapting to life in the melting pot of America, I discovered that the same soft power of science has a huge influence in building bridges between cultures and religions - and has the potential to do so with the Muslim world.
Ahmed ZewailRead
To wage a war for a purely moral reason is as absurd as to ravish a woman for a purely moral reason
H. L. MenckenRead
God doesnβt need to punish us. He just grants us a long enough life to punish ourselves.
Barbara KingsolverRead