Those who are unhappy have no need for anything in this world but people capable of giving them their attention.
Interpretation
Unhappy individuals seek companionship and understanding from others. Their greatest need is for attentive, caring people in their lives.
This quote by Simone Weil highlights the importance of human connection for those experiencing unhappiness. It suggests that emotional support and genuine attention from others can be a crucial remedy for loneliness and despair, emphasizing that in times of distress, companionship can provide the solace and understanding that individuals need.
In practice
In a speech addressing mental health, one might say, 'Remember, those who are unhappy need our attention and support more than anything else.'
The afflicted are not listened to. They are like someone whose tongue has been cut out and who occasionally forgets the fact. When they move their lips no ear perceives any sound. And they themselves soon sink into impotence in the use of language, because of the certainty of not being heard.
The appetite for power, even for universal power, is only insane when there is no possibility of indulging it; a man who sees the possibility opening before him and does not try to grasp it, even at the risk of destroying himself and his country, is either
As soon as men know that they can kill without fear of punishment or blame, they kill; or at least they encourage killers with approving smiles.
Evil is license, and that is why it is monotonous: everything has to be drawn from ourselves. One is condemned to false infinity. That is hell itself.
I am not a Catholic; but I consider the Christian idea, which has its roots in Greek thought and in the course of the centuries has nourished all of our European civilization, as something that one cannot renounce without becoming degraded.
How many people have been thus led, through lack of self-confidence, to stifle their most justified doubts?
I don't see any reason to discriminate against homosexuals.
... there are four women in every manβs heart. The Maid in the Meadow, the Demon Lover, the Stouthearted Woman, the Tall and Quiet Woman.
For me, any story I tackle begins with the human relationships and not the plot.
It's a taboo that comes back over and over, to suggest that women can feel divided - that you can love your child and want to do everything for it, and at the same time want to put it away from you and reclaim something of yourself.
God calls all of his children to the table. We can disagree and even say a lot of hateful things, but what we can't do in good conscience is leave the table. Or demand that someone else not be at the table.
We gave up everything just to sit at your table.
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