As my prayer become more attentive and inwardI had less and less to say.I finally became completely silent.I started to listen– which is even further removed from speaking.I first thought that praying entailed speaking.I then learnt that praying is hearing,not merely being silent.This is how it is.To pray does not mean to listen to oneself… Continue reading Søren Kierkegaard
The more consciousness the more intense the despair. — Søren Kierkegaard, The Sickness Unto Death. (Princeton University Press November 1, 1983) Originally published 1849.
What is a poet? An unhappy man who hides deep anguish in his heart, but whose lips are so formed that when the sigh and cry pass through them, it sounds like lovely music…. And people flock around the poet and say: ‘Sing again soon’ – that is, ‘May new sufferings torment your soul but… Continue reading Søren Kierkegaard
In addition to my other numerous acquaintances, I have one more intimate confidant…My depression is the most faithful mistress I have known — no wonder, then, that I return the love. — Søren Kierkegaard, “Diapsalmata,” Vol. 1, Either/Or: A Fragment of Life. (Penguin Classics; Revised ed. edition December 1, 1992) Originally published in 1843.
Adversity draws men together and produces beauty and harmony in life’s relationships, just as the cold of winter produces ice-flowers on the window-panes, which vanish with the warmth. ― Søren Kierkegaard
The consequence of having seen God is madness, not in the sense that one becomes mentally ill, no, but that a kind of madness is set between you and others: people cannot nor will not understand you. — Søren Kierkegaard, Provocations: Spiritual Writings of Kierkegaard. (Orbis Books March 8, 2004) Originally published 1999.
She awakens first at the touch of love; before that time she is a dream, yet in her dream life we can distinguish two stages: in the first, love dreams about her; in the second, she dreams about love. — Søren Kierkegaard, The Seducer’s Diary. (Princeton University Press August 18, 1997) Originally published 1843.
Hope is a passion for the possible. ― Søren Kierkegaard, Fear and Trembling. (Penguin Books; Penguin Great Ideas edition May 30, 2006) Originally published 1843.
And people flock around the poet and say: “Sing again soon”—that is, “May new sufferings torment your soul but your lips be fashioned as before, for the cry would only frighten us, but the music, that is blissful. — Søren Kierkegaard, Either/Or. Published by University bookshop Reitzel, Copenhagen February 20, 1843. Published in English 1944… Continue reading Søren Kierkegaard
There are only two views of life, corresponding to the duality that is a hum. being: animal creature and spirit. According to the one, the task is: to live, to enjoy life, and to direct everything at this. The other view is: the meaning of life is to die. — Søren Kierkegaard, Kierkegaard’s Journals and… Continue reading Søren Kierkegaard
The Vale of Soul-Making 