We're our own dragons as well as our own heroes, and we have to rescue ourselves from ourselves.
Tom RobbinsRead
It's personal freedom, not hundred dollar bills that lights the soul's cigar.
Interpretation
What this quote means
True fulfillment comes from personal freedom rather than material wealth.
In this quote, Tom Robbins emphasizes the idea that the essence of happiness and fulfillment in life is not derived from financial wealth, represented by 'hundred dollar bills,' but rather from the experience of personal freedom. He suggests that our inner joy and vitalityβor what he poetically describes as 'lighting the soul's cigar'βis ignited by the ability to express ourselves freely and authentically, rather than being constrained by material possessions or societal expectations.
Themes
FreedomWealthHappinessFulfillmentSelf-Expression
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about personal development, one might say this quote to emphasize the importance of inner happiness over outward success.
More from Tom Robbins
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The unhappy person resents it when you try to cheer him up, because that means he has to stop dwelling on himself and start paying attention to the universe. Unhappiness is the ultimate form of self-indulgence. When you're unhappy, you get to pay a lot of attention to yourself. You get to take yourself oh so very seriously.
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I'm an outlaw, not a philosopher, but I know this much: there's meaning in everything, all things are connected, and a good champagne is a drink.' Bernard began to sing again. Timidly, Leigh-Cheri joined in. Between verses, they opened another bottle. The popping of its cork echoed throughout the great stone chamber. Of the three billion people on earth, only Bernard and Leigh-Cheri heard the popping of the cork and its echoes. Only Bernard and Leigh-Cheri passed out under the tablecloth.
Tom RobbinsRead
The Divine was beyond description, beyond knowing, beyond comprehension. To say that the Divine was Creation divided by Destruction was as close as one could come to definition. But the puny of soul, the dull of wit, weren't content with that. They wanted to hang a face on the Divine. They went so far as to attribute petty human emotions - anger, jealousy, etc - to it, not stopping to realize that if God were a being, even a supreme being, our prayers would have bored him to death long ago.
Tom RobbinsRead
On their sofas of spice and feathers, the concubines also slept fretfully. In those days the Earth was still flat, and people dreamed often of falling over edges.
Tom RobbinsRead
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The reason we have poverty is that we have no imagination. There are a great many people accumulating what they think is vast wealth, but it's only money... they don't know how to enjoy it, because they have no imagination.
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