Love is generally confused with dependence; but in point of fact, you can love only in proportion to your capacity for independence.
Rollo MayRead
The problems of a period are the existential crises of what can be but hasn't yet been resolved; and regardless of how seriously we take that word 'resolved,' if there were not some new possibility, there would be no crisis - there would be only despair.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Crises arise from unresolved possibilities, and without hope for new solutions, despair would prevail.
Rollo May's quote highlights the idea that existential crises stem from unresolved issues and the tension between our current state and potential futures. The essence of crisis lies in the recognition that while problems exist, the presence of new possibilities provides the hope needed to navigate through despair, suggesting that our engagement with these possibilities is crucial for personal and collective growth.
Themes
CrisisExistentialPossibilityDespairHope
In practice
Example use cases
A motivational speaker might use this quote to inspire people facing uncertainty in their careers.
More from Rollo May
All quotes →To love means to open ourselves to the negative as well as the positive - to grief, sorrow, and disappointment as well as to joy, fulfillment, and an intensity of consciousness we did not know was possible before
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Terrorism and the whole drug scene are vivid examples of the fact that what persons abhor most of all in life is the possibility that they will not matter.
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Humor is the healthy way of feeling "distance" between one's self and the problem, a way of standing off and looking at one's problem with perspective.
Rollo MayRead
Beauty is the experience that gives us a sense of joy and a sense of peace simultaneously.
Rollo MayRead
The poet, like the lover, is a menace on the assembly line.
Rollo MayRead
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