To be understood is to prostitute yourself.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- The speaker suggests that being truly understood requires sacrificing parts of oneself or compromising integrity.
- In plain terms
- To be understood, you must give away pieces of yourself.
- What can you take from it?
- Being understood often comes at a personal cost.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Is understanding worth the cost?
- How much of yourself do you reveal?
Another view
Understanding does not always require total exposure.
More from Fernando Pessoa
Being pleased with what they give you is proper of slaves. Asking for more is proper of children. Conquering more is proper of fools.
Permalink to quote #82 I search and can't find myself. I belong in chrysanthemum time, sharp in calla lily elongations. God made my soul into an ornamental thing.
Permalink to quote #84 To write is to forget. Literature is the pleasantest way of ignoring life.
Permalink to quote #81
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