Faith is the highest passion in a human being. Many in every generation may not come that far, but none comes further.
Soren KierkegaardRead
On the whole, the longing for solitude is a sign that there still is spirit in a person and is a measure of what spirit there is.
Interpretation
Longing for solitude indicates a person's inner spirit and depth.
This quote by Soren Kierkegaard suggests that a desire for solitude reflects a person's inner vitality and self-awareness. It implies that those who seek quiet and isolation do so not out of despair, but as a means of connecting with their true selves and nurturing their spirit, revealing the depth of their emotional and intellectual lives.
In practice
During a discussion on personal growth, one might use this quote to emphasize the importance of solitude.
Faith is the highest passion in a human being. Many in every generation may not come that far, but none comes further.
Men think that it is impossible for a human being to love his enemies, for enemies are hardly able to endure the sight of one another. Well, then, shut your eyes--and your enemy looks just like your neighbor.
How did I get into the world? Why was I not asked about it and why was I not informed of the rules and regulations but just thrust into the ranks as if I had been bought by a peddling shanghaier of human beings? How did I get involved in this big enterprise called actuality? Why should I be involved? Isn't it a matter of choice? And if I am compelled to be involved, where is the managerβI have something to say about this. Is there no manager? To whom shall I make my complaint?
A possibility is a hint from God. One must follow it.
And when the hourglass has run out, the hourglass of temporality, when the noise of secular life has grown silent and its restless or ineffectual activism has come to an end, when everything around you is still, as it is in eternity, then eternity asks you and every individual in these millions and millions about only one thing: whether you have lived in despair or not.
I am so stupid that I cannot understand philosophy; the antithesis of this is that philosophy is so clever that it cannot comprehend my stupidity. These antitheses are mediated in a higher unity; in our common stupidity.
I think we are blind. Blind people who can see, but do not see.
You should not have any special fondness for a particular weapon, or anything else, for that matter. Too much is the same as not enough. Without imitating anyone else, you should have as much weaponry as suits you.
No one would think he'd make such a beautiful corpse.
"I love mankind," he said, "but I find to my amazement that the more I love mankind as a whole, the less I love man in particular."
It was a drowsy summer afternoon, and the Forest was full of gentle sounds, which all seemed to be saying to Pooh, 'Don't listen to Rabbit, listen to me.' So he got in a comfortable position for not listening to Rabbit.
I can't take my Catholic belief, my article of faith, and legislate it on a Protestant or a Jew or an Atheist. We have separation of church and state in the United States of America.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.