He had learned long ago that, in general, the easier it was for anxious patients to reach him, the less likely they were to call. (107)
Irvin D. YalomRead
Marriage and its entourage of possession and jealousy enslave the spirit.
Interpretation
Marriage can often lead to feelings of ownership and envy, which can restrict personal freedom.
In this quote, Irvin D. Yalom suggests that the institution of marriage, along with its accompanying emotions of possession and jealousy, can suffocate individual freedom and hinder personal growth. The idea is that rather than fostering a sense of partnership, these negative emotions can create a form of bondage that enslaves the spirit, ultimately impacting both individuals' sense of self and their capacity for genuine connection.
In practice
This quote could be used during a marriage counseling session to address underlying issues.
He had learned long ago that, in general, the easier it was for anxious patients to reach him, the less likely they were to call. (107)
A curious thought experiment. . . Nietzsche's message to us was to live life in such a way that we would be willing to repeat the same life eternally
A sense of life meaning ensues but cannot be deliberately pursued: life meaning is always a derivative phenomenon that materializes when we have transcended ourselves, when we have forgotten ourselves and become absorbed in someone (or something) outside ourselves
It is wrong to bear children out of need, wrong to use a child to alleviate loneliness, wrong to provide purpose in life by reproducing another copy of oneself. It is wrong also to seek immortality by spewing one's germ into the future as though sperm contains your consciousness!
Life is a spark between two identical voids, the darkness before birth and the one after death.
I dream of a love that is more than two people craving to possess one another.
She had not wanted him to but had let him have his way because ever since she was a child she had generally yielded before anyone with strong willpower, especially if it was a man, not because she was naturally submissive, but because strong male willpower gave her a feeling of safety and trust, together with acceptance and a desire to give in.
I just look at Miley Cyrus, and I'm like, 'Great, you've doubled your audience. But you've also doubled the number of people that hate you, and doesn't that hurt?' It takes a crazy person not to be affected by that.
In that shrinking moment he discovered that he had never hated anyone until now. It was a feeling as pure as love, but dispassionate and icily rational.
There can be no doubt that our Nation has had a long and unfortunate history of sex discrimination. Traditionally, such discrimination was rationalized by an attitude of "romantic paternalism" which, in practical effect, put women, not on a pedestal, but in a cage.
I married beneath me. All women do.
I don't think homosexuality is a choice. Society forces you to think it's a choice, but in fact, it's in one's nature. The choice is whether one expresses one's nature truthfully or spends the rest of one's life lying about it.
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