Jump off. You are a protected individual. Do not fear.
Henry MillerRead
There is no salvation in becoming adapted to a world which is crazy.
Interpretation
Adapting to a chaotic world is not the solution to finding peace or purpose.
Henry Miller's quote suggests that simply fitting into a chaotic and irrational world does not lead to personal salvation or fulfillment. Instead of conforming to the madness surrounding us, it encourages individuals to seek their own path and understanding, rather than accepting a distorted reality as a norm.
In practice
This quote can be used in a motivational seminar discussing mental health and self-acceptance.
Jump off. You are a protected individual. Do not fear.
I saw through to the last sign and symbol, but I could not read her face. I could see only the eyes shining through, huge, fleshy-like luminous beasts, as though I were swimming behind them in the electric effluvia of her incandescent vision.
The essential thing is to WANT to sing. This then is a song. I am singing.
Great God! What have I turned into? What right have you people to clutter up my life, steal my time, probe my soul, suckle my thoughts, have me for your companion, confidant, and information bureau? What do you take me for? Am I an entertainer on salary, required every evening to play an intellectual farce under your stupid noses? Am I a slave, bought and paid for, to crawl on my belly in front of you idlers and lay at your feet all that I do and all that I know?
We are swimming on the face of time and all else has drowned, is drowning, or will drown.
To sing you must first open your mouth. You must have a pair of lungs, and a little knowledge of music. It is not necessary to have an accordion, or a guitar. The essential thing is to want to sing. This then is a song. I am singing.
The American Dream may be slipping away. We have overcome such challenges before. To recover the Dream requires knowing where it came from, how it lasted so long and why it matters so much.
I loathed the game, and since I could see no pleasure or usefulness in it, it was very difficult for me to show courage at it. Football, it seemed to me, is not really played for the pleasure of kicking a ball about, but is a species of fighting.
All wars are civil wars, because all men are brothers.
It's a tragedy, in a way, that Americans are brought up to think that they cannot feel for other people and other beings just because they are different. They think they're different. It's very limiting.
A strong nation is one that is loved by its people and, as Edmund Burke put it, for a country to be loved it ought to be lovely.
Nothing is miserable unless you think it so; and on the other hand, nothing brings happiness unless you are content with it.
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