We're our own dragons as well as our own heroes, and we have to rescue ourselves from ourselves.
Tom RobbinsRead
In times of widespread chaos and confusion, it has been the duty of more advanced human beings--artists, scientists, clowns and philosophers--to create order. In times such as ours, however, when there is too much order, too much management, too much programming and control, it becomes the duty of superior men and women to fling their favorite monkey wrenches into the machinery. To relive the repression of the human spirit, they must sow doubt and disruption.
Interpretation
What this quote means
In chaotic times, creative individuals are tasked with bringing order; in overly ordered times, they disrupt for the sake of the human spirit.
This quote by Tom Robbins speaks to the dual role that creative thinkers play in society. During periods of chaos, artists, scientists, and philosophers help to establish order and understanding, guiding humanity through turbulent times. Conversely, when society is overly controlled and structured, these same thinkers are called to challenge the status quo, introducing disruption and doubt to foster a more authentic expression of the human spirit. This underscores the importance of balance between order and chaos in human experience.
Themes
ChaosOrderCreativityDisruptionHuman Spirit
In practice
Example use cases
In a lecture about the importance of artistic expression during politically charged times.
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All quotes →There are many things worth living for, a few things worth dying for, and nothing worth killing for.
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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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