The poet is one who is able to keep the fresh vision of the child alive.
Anais NinRead
There are only two kinds of freedom in the world; the freedom of the rich and powerful, and the freedom of the artist and the monk who renounces possessions.
Interpretation
The quote highlights the contrasting types of freedom experienced by the wealthy and the spiritually liberated.
Anais Nin's quote presents a profound observation on the nature of freedom. It suggests that while the rich and powerful enjoy freedom that comes with material wealth and influence, there is another kind of freedom found in the lives of artists and monks who choose to let go of possessions and societal expectations. This dichotomy invites reflection on what true freedom means and how it can manifest in varying lifestyles.
In practice
This quote can be used in a speech about the different paths to personal freedom.
The poet is one who is able to keep the fresh vision of the child alive.
Anxiety is love's greatest killer, because it is like the stranglehold of the drowning.
We celebrate peace. Yet we pay no attention to the ways of curing aggression in human beings. And when one sees in psychoanalysis hostility disappearing as people conquer their fears, one wonders if the cure is not there.
The impetus to grow and live intensely is so powerful in me I cannot resist it. I will work, I will love my husband, but I will fulfill myself.
We have been poisoned by fairy tales.
But I lie. I embellish. My words are not deep enough. They disguise, they conceal. I will not rest until I have told of my descent into a sensuality which was as dark, as magnificent, as wild, as my moments of mystic creation have been dazzling, ecstatic, exalted.
Freedom is a very great reality, but it means above all things, freedom from lies.
The Constitution was framed upon the theory that the peoples of the several states must sink or swim together, and that in the long run prosperity and salvation are in union and not division.
If, before undertaking some action, you must obtain the permission of society-you are not free, whether such permission is granted to you or not. Only a slave acts on permission. A permission is not a right.
There is no greater mystery than this, that we keep _x000D_ seeking reality though in fact we are reality. We _x000D_ think that there is something hiding reality and that _x000D_ this must be destroyed before reality is gained. _x000D_ How ridiculous! A day will dawn when you will laugh _x000D_ ... at all your past efforts. That which will be the day _x000D_ you laugh is also here and now.
In here, the human bosom -- mine, yours, everybody's -- there isn't just one soul. There's a lot of souls. But there are two main ones, the real soul and a pretender soul. Now! Every man realizes that he has to love something or somebody. He feels that he must go outward. 'If thou canst not love, what art thou?' Are you with me?
The self is not something ready-made, but something in continuous formation through choice of action.
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