Staring at the Sun: Overcoming the Terror of Death
Irvin D. Yalom
Top 10 Best Quotes
“... sooner or later she had to give up the hope for a better past.”
“...the more unlived your life, the greater your death anxiety. The more you fail to experience your life fully, the more you will fear death.”
“The pain is there; when you close one door on it, it knocks to come in somewhere else...”
“Self-awareness is a supreme gift, a treasure as precious as life. This is what makes us human. But it comes with a costly price: the wound of mortality. Our existence is forever shadowed by the knowledge that we will grow, blossom, and, inevitably, diminish and die.”
“Why, you may ask, take on this unpleasant, frightening subject? Why stare into the sun? Why not follow the advice of the venerable dean of American psychiatry, Adolph Meyer, who, a century ago, cautioned psychiatrists, 'Don't scratch where it doesn't itch'? Why grapple with the most terrible, the darkest and most unchangeable aspect of life? ... Death, however, DOES itch. It itches all the time; it is always with us, scratching at some inner door, whirring softly, barely audibly, just under the membrane of consciousness.”
“would you be willing to live this past year again and again for all eternity?”
“Let me adapt some of Nietzsche's words and say this to you: "To become wise, you must learn to listen to the wild dogs barking in your cellar.”
“I urge you not to distract yourself. Instead, savor awakening. Take advantage of it. Pause as you stare into the photograph of the younger you. Let the poignant moment sweep over you and linger a bit; taste the sweetness of it as well as the bitterness. Keep in mind the advantage of remaining aware of death, of hugging its shadow to you. Such awareness can integrate the darkness with your spark of life and enhance your life while you still have it. To way to value life, the way to feel compassion for others, the way to love anything with greatest depth is to be aware that these experiences are destined to be lost.”
“though the physicality of death destroys us, the idea of death saves us.”
“He was saying, fulfill yourself, realize your potential, live boldly and fully. Then, and only then, die without regret.”
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Book Keywords:
life, 147, awareness, death, 211
