Sunday, June 9, 2024

On Love

 On Love

Hannah Arendt

Maria Popova Blog


“Love, but be careful what you love”


“So long as we desire temporal things

We are constantly under this threat

And our fear of losing always

Corresponds to our desire to have! 


Temporal goods originate and perish

Independently of (wo)man who is

Tied to them by desire-

Constantly bound by craving and 

Fear to have a future full of uncertainties!

We strip each present moment of its calm! 

Its intrinsic import

Which we are unable to enjoy

And so the future destroys the present! 


….


The present is not determined by the future as such

But by certain events which we hope for ir

Fear from future

And which we accordingly crave and pursue

Or shun and avoid! 


Happiness consists in possession 

In having and holding our good and 

Even more in being sure of not losing it


Sorrow consists in having lost our good and 

Enduring its loss


However for Augustine, happiness of having

Is not contrasted by the Sorrow (of losing)

But by fear of losing


The trouble with human happiness is -It is constantly

Beset by fear

It is not the lack of possessing - but a 

Safety of possession that is at stake



My Notes:


Do not hold on to temporal goods 

Power, Position, Prosperity, People


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