Seeking means: to have a goal; but finding means: to be free, to be receptive, to have no goal. You, O worthy one, are perhaps indeed a seeker, for in striving towards your goal, you do not see many things that are under your nose.
Interpretation
The quote contrasts the act of seeking with the freedom of finding, emphasizing that pursuing goals can blind us to present opportunities.
In this quote, Hermann Hesse suggests that while seeking knowledge or goals can be important, it can lead to a narrow focus that prevents us from appreciating the richness of our current experiences. He encourages a mindset that values openness and receptivity, highlighting that true understanding and fulfillment often come from discovering what is immediately available to us, rather than solely pursuing distant objectives.
In practice
Use this quote in a motivational speech about the importance of being present and open to new experiences.
I shall no longer be instructed by the Yoga Veda or the Aharva Veda, or the ascetics, or any other doctrine whatsoever. I shall learn from myself, be a pupil of myself; I shall get to know myself, the mystery of Siddhartha." He looked around as if he were seeing the world for the first time.
That is where my dearest and brightest dreams have ranged — to hear for the duration of a heartbeat the universe and the totality of life in its mysterious, innate harmony.
I, also, would like to look and smile, sit and walk like that, so free, so worthy, so restrained, so candid, so childlike and mysterious. A man only looks and walks like that when he has conquered his Self. I also will conquer my Self.
You're quite right there," he said. "I have practiced abstinence myself for years, and had my time of fasting, too, but now I find myself once more beneath the sign of Aquarius, a dark and humid constellation.
I call that man awake who, with conscious knowledge and understanding, can perceive the deep unreasoning powers in his soul, his whole innermost strength, desire and weakness, and knows how to reckon with himself.
Despair is the result of each earnest attempt to go through life with virtue, justice and understanding, and to fulfill their requirements. Children live on one side of despair, the awakened on the other side.
Writing is a strange and solitary activity. There are dispiriting times when you start working on the first few pages of a novel. Every day, you have the feeling you are on the wrong track. This creates a strong urge to go back and follow a different path. It is important not to give in to this urge but to keep going.
To be honest, I've never been interested in how many games I've done and seen. It doesn't mean anything to anybody. All I know is I'm eternally grateful for having been allowed to work so many games.
It is a modern tragedy that despair has so many spokesmen, and hope so few.
It seems that the necessary thing to do is not to fear mistakes, to plunge in, to do the best that one can, hoping to learn enough from blunders to correct them eventually.
They were small, brightly coloured, happy little creatures who secreted some of the nastiest toxins in the world, which is why the job of looking after the large vivarium where they happily passed their days was given to first-year students, on the basis that if they got things wrong there wouldn't be too much education wasted.
Some of the things are the same no matter which world you're in, kid. One of 'em is this: The quickest way out of something is usually straight through it.
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