A man will renounce any pleasures you like but he will not give up his suffering.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- People often choose to endure pain or struggle rather than let go of it, even when they could choose pleasure instead.
- In plain terms
- Humans hold onto their suffering more tightly than they hold onto their pleasures.
- What can you take from it?
- Recognize that clinging to pain is a voluntary choice.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Why do you hold onto your pain?
- What does your suffering give you?
Another view
Not all suffering is chosen; some is imposed by external circumstances.
More from G. I. Gurdjieff
A man may be born, but in order to be born he must first die, and in order to die he must first awake.
Permalink to quote #30 It is the greatest mistake to think that man is always one and the same. A man is never the same for long. He is continually changing. He seldom remains the sa…
Permalink to quote #32 When we speak of prayer or of the results of prayer we always imply only one kind of prayer - petition, or we think that petition can be united with all other …
Permalink to quote #29
Related quotes
Sometimes it is harder to deprive oneself of a pain than of a pleasure.
F. Scott FitzgeraldF. Scott Fitzgerald quote #5 In every one of us there are two ruling and directing principles, whose guidance we follow wherever they may lead; the one being an innate desire of pleasure; …
SocratesSocrates quote #3 Almost all men, and those that seem to be very miserable, love life, because they cannot bear to lose sight of such a beautiful and lovely world. The ideas, th…
Jonathan EdwardsJonathan Edwards quote #7