So please don't think that I am renouncing anything, I am reasonably faithful in my unfaithfulness and though I have changed, I am the same, and what preys on my mind is simply this one question: what am I good for, could I not be of service or use in some way, how can I become more knowledgeable and study some subject or other in depth? That is what keeps preying on my mind, you see, and then one feels imprisoned by poverty, barred from taking part in this or that project and all sorts of necessities are out of one's reach. As a result one cannot rid oneself of melancholy, one feels emptiness where there might have been friendship and sublime and genuine affection, and one feels dreadful disappointment gnawing at one's spiritual energy, fate seems to stand in the way of affection or one feels a wave of disgust welling up inside. And then one says 'How long, my God!'
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Despite change, the core self remains while seeking purpose and service amidst struggle.
- In plain terms
- I change but stay myself, asking how I can serve and grow.
- What can you take from it?
- Seek purpose and service even when life feels hard.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What are you good for?
- How can you serve others?
Another view
Service may not resolve internal melancholy or external barriers.
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