All the time, I've felt that life is a wager and that I probably was getting more out of leading a bohemian existence as a writer than I would have if I didn't.
Interpretation
Life involves risks, and embracing a creative lifestyle can yield greater rewards than playing it safe.
In this quote, Christopher Hitchens reflects on the notion of life as a gamble, suggesting that living a bohemian lifestyle as a writer offers richer experiences and fulfillment. He implies that the risks and uncertainties inherent in such a life are preferable to a more conventional existence, as they ultimately provide more meaning and depth to one's life journey.
In practice
This quote could be used in a speech about embracing creativity and taking risks in life.
In a public dialogue with Salman in London he [Edward Said] had once described the Palestinian plight as one where his people, expelled and dispossessed by Jewish victors, were in the unique historical position of being 'the victims of the victims': there was something quasi-Christian, I thought, in the apparent humility of that statement.
What can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence.
Never ask while you are doing it if what you are doing is fun. Don't introduce even your most reliably witty acquaintance as someone who will set the table on a roar.
[E]xceptional claims demand exceptional evidence.
The worst days are when you feel foggy in the head - chemo-brain they call it. It's awful because you feel boring. As well as bored. And stupid. And resigned.
Let me tell you something: for hundreds of thousands of years, this kind of discussion would have been impossible to have, or those like us would have been having it at the risk of our lives. Religion now comes to us in this smiley-face, ingratiating way — because it’s had to give so much more ground and because we know so much more. But you’ve got no right to forget the way it behaved when it was strong, and when it really did believe that it had God on its side.
You don't know. When I'm out there at night I feel close to my own body, I can feel my blood moving, my skin and fingernails, everything, it's like I'm full of electricity and I'm glowing in the dark - I'm on fire almost - I'm burning away into nothing - but it doesn't matter because I know exactly who I am.
We can't plan life. All we can do is be available for it.
How many on their deathbeds wished they'd spent more time at the office - or watching TV? The answer is, No one.
The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time.
He that embarks on the voyage of life will always wish to advance rather by the impulse of the wind than the strokes of the oar; and many fold in their passage; while they lie waiting for the gale.
The Annex is an ideal place to hide in. It may be damp and lopsided, but there's probably not a more comfortable hiding place in all of Amsterdam. No, in all of Holland.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.