It is in books, poems, paintings which often give us the confidence to take seriously feelings in ourselves that we might otherwise never have thought to acknowledge.
Alain De BottonRead
As victims of hurt, we frequently don't bring up what ails us, because so many wounds look absurd in the light of day.
Interpretation
What this quote means
People often hide their pain because it seems trivial when exposed to the outside world.
This quote by Alain De Botton reflects the human tendency to conceal emotional and psychological wounds. Individuals may feel that their struggles are insignificant or absurd when compared to others, leading to a reluctance to express their suffering. The fear of judgment or misunderstanding often complicates the healing process and underscores the importance of empathy in addressing personal pain.
Themes
PainEmotionsPsychologyHealingVulnerability
In practice
Example use cases
In a mental health seminar discussing the importance of sharing feelings.
More from Alain De Botton
All quotes βTaking architecture seriously therefore makes some singular and strenuous demands upon us...It means conceding that we are inconveniently vulnerable to the colour of our wallpaper and that our sense of purpose may be derailed by an unfortunate bedspread
Alain De BottonRead
The more closely we analyze what we consider 'sexy,' the more clearly we will understand that eroticism is the feeling of excitement we experience at finding another human being who shares our values and our sense of the meaning of existence.
Alain De BottonRead
Good books put a finger on emotions that are deeply our own - but that we could never have described on our own.
Alain De BottonRead
The challenge of modern relationships: how to prove more interesting than the other's smartphone.
Alain De BottonRead
It is the most ambitious and driven among us who are the most sorely in need of having our reckless hopes dampened through immersive dousings in the darkness which religions have explored. This is a particular priority for secular Americans, perhaps the most anxious and disappointed people on earth, for their nation infuses them with the most extreme hopes about what they may be able to achieve in their working lives and relationships.
Alain De BottonRead
Similar quotes
There is a third silent party to all our bargains. The nature and soul of things takes on itself the guaranty of the fulfillment of every contract, so that honest service cannot come to loss. If you serve an ungrateful master, serve him the more. Put God in your debt. Every stroke shall be repaid. The longer the payment is withholden, the better for you; for compound interest on compound interest is the rate and usage of this exchequer.
Ralph Waldo EmersonRead
It is about your outlook towards life. You can either regret or rejoice.
Ralph Waldo EmersonRead
As one studies these preconditions, one becomes saddened by the ease with which human potentiality can be destroyed or repressed, so that a fully-human person can seem like a miracle, so improbable a happening as to be awe-inspiring. And simultaneously one is heartened by the fact that self-actualizing persons do in fact exist, that they are therefore possible, that the gauntlet of dangers can be run, that the finish line can be crossed.
Abraham MaslowRead
If horses had controlled investment decisions, there would have been no auto industry.
Warren BuffettRead
I learned at Yale, one of the biggest lessons was to learn how special I am and therefore how totally unspecial I am. I was special among everyone else who was special. The fact that we're all so individual and that's what makes us special.
Lupita Nyong'ORead
If you concentrate on the present, you eliminate what happened yesterday and any apprehension of what may happen tomorrow.
Denis WaitleyRead