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
Nobody seems more obsessed by diet than our antimaterialist, otherworldly, New Age, spiritual types. But if the material world is merely illusion, an honest guru should as content with Budweiser and bratwurst as with raw carrot juice, tofu, and seaweed slime.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote critiques the hypocrisy in spiritual beliefs regarding materialism and dietary choices.
Edward Abbey discusses the tension between spiritual beliefs and material existence, suggesting that if the material world is simply an illusion, then one's dietary preferences should not matter. He highlights the absurdity of being overly obsessed with a 'perfect' diet among those who claim to transcend material concerns, thereby encouraging a more grounded and honest perspective on life.
Themes
DietMaterialismSpiritualityHonestyIllusion
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be shared at a wellness workshop to spark discussion about the balance between diet and spirituality.
More from Edward Abbey
All quotes →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.
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If it's knowledge and wisdom you want, then seek out the company of those who do real work for an honest purpose.
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The earth is real. Only a fool, milking his cow, denies the cow's reality.
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I believe in nothing that I cannot touch, kiss, embrace.... The rest is only hearsay.
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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.
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