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Why Must Love Always Be Accompanied--sooner Or Later--by Sorrow And Pain? Why Not? Because Pure Bliss Is For Pure Idiots.
-Edward Abbey
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Why Must Love Always

Edward Abbey
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Why Must Love Always Be Accompanied--sooner Or Later--by Sorrow And Pain? Why Not? Because Pure Bliss Is For Pure Idiots.

Understanding the Quote: "why must love always be accompanied--sooner or later--by sorrow and pain? why..."

This quote by Edward Abbey reflects deeply on the theme of pain. It connects to the universal human journey of purpose, motivation, and reflection. Often categorized under Pain, Sorrow, Why Not, the quote offers insight, emotional clarity, and intellectual inspiration to readers worldwide.

Whether you’re a student exploring new ideas, a leader trying to motivate your team, or someone seeking direction in life — this quote provides value. It resonates because it’s more than words — it’s a bridge between experience and wisdom. It shows how Edward Abbey interprets life's core challenges and triumphs.

Lessons From the Quote

This quote teaches resilience and focus. It reminds readers that no matter where they stand in life, reflection and self-awareness lead to growth. Each word has meaning, and when studied, it becomes clear how impactful thoughtful language can be.

About Edward Abbey

Edward Abbey is celebrated for insightful thoughts on pain and sorrow. Their legacy lives on through writings that guide, comfort, and inspire. Discover more on their profile page.

Actionable Takeaways

  • Reflect on how this quote applies to your current life path.
  • Share the message with someone who needs inspiration.
  • Write your thoughts on this quote in a journal or blog post.
  • Use it as a daily affirmation or reminder.

Closing Thoughts

Quotes like this endure because they capture universal truths. They comfort us in solitude and empower us in groups. Carry this quote forward — live by its wisdom, share its message, and keep its essence alive.

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Topic
Pain
Sorrow
Why Not
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Wilderness
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Years
America
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Numbers
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Sunday
Afternoon
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Light
Desert
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My Own
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Musical
Trying
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Mankind
Foolishness
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Delusion
Comfortable
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Bed
Cadavers
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Stupidity
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Mayonnaise, Like Hollandaise, Was Invented By The French To Cover Up The Flavor Of Spoiled Flesh, Stale Vegetables, Rotten Fish. Beware The Sauce! Where Food Comes Beslobbered With An Elegant Slime You May Well Suspect The Integrity Of The Basic Ingredients.
Integrity
Vegetables
Cover Ups
I Am Pleased Enough With The Surfaces - In Fact They Alone Seem To Me To Be Of Much Importance. Such Things For Example As The Grasp Of A Child's Hand In Your Own, The Flavor Of An Apple, The Embrace Of A Friend Or Lover, The Silk Of A Girl's Thigh, The Sunlight On The Rock And Leaves, The Feel Of Music, The Bark Of A Tree, The Abrasion Of Granite And Sand, The Plunge Of Clear Water Into A Pool, The Face Of The Wind - What Else Is There? What Else Do We Need?
Girl
Children
Hands
The One Thing ... That Is Truly Ugly Is The Climate Of Hate And Intimidation, Created By A Noisy Few, Which Makes The Decent Majority Reluctant To Air In Public Their Views On Anything Controversial. ... Where All Pretend To Be Thinking Alike, It's Likely That No One Is Thinking At All.
Hate
Thinking
Air
I Hold No Preference Among Flowers, So Long As They Are Wild, Free, Spontaneous.
Nature
Flower
Long
Football Is A Game For Trained Apes. That, In Fact, Is What Most Of The Players Are -- Retarded Gorillas Wearing Helmets And Uniforms. The Only Thing More Debased Is The Surrounding Mob Of Drunken Monkeys Howling The Gorillas On.
Football
Player
Games
Though I've Lived In The Rural West Most Of My Life, I Never Once Fell In Love With A Horse. Not Once. Neither End.
Horse
West
Ends
Too Many American Authors Have A Servile Streak Where Their Backbone Should Be. Where's Our Latest Nobel Laureate? More Than Likely You'll Find Him In The Rose Garden Kissing The First Lady's Foot.
Kissing
Garden
Feet
We Are Kindred All Of Us, Killer And Victim, Predator And Prey, Me And The Sly Coyote, The Soaring Buzzard, The Elegant Gopher Snake, And Trembling Cottontail, The Foul Worms That Feed On Our Entrails; All Of Them, All Of Us. Long Live Diversity, Long Live The Earth!
Journey
Snakes
Hiking
Running The Big Rapids Is Like Sex: Half The Fun Lies In The Anticipation. Two Thirds Of The Thrill With The Approach. The Remainder Is Only Ecstasy-or Darkness.
Running
Sex
Fun
The Very Poor Are Strictly Materialistic. It Takes Money To Be A Mystic.
Materialistic
Poor
Mystic
In Social Affairs, I'm An Optimist. I Really Do Believe That Our Military- Industrial Civilization Will Soon Collapse.
Military
Believe
Civilization
When The Situation Is Desperate, It Is Too Late To Be Serious. Be Playful.
Serious
Too Late
Desperate
The Greater Your Dreams, The More Terrible Your Nightmares.
Dream
Nightmare
Terrible
It May Be True That My Desk Here Is Really 'nothing But' A Transient Eddy Of Electrons In The Flux Of Universal Process. Nevertheless, I Find That It Continues To Support My Feet, My Revolver, And My Cigars All Day Long. What Happens When My Back Is Turned I Don't Know. Or Much Care. That's No Concern Of Mine.
Feet
Long
Support
Strolling On, It Seems To Me That The Strangeness And Wonder Of Existence Are Emphasized Here, In The Desert, By The Comparative Sparsity Of The Flora And Fauna: Life Not Crowded Upon Life As In Other Places But Scattered Abroad In Spareness And Simplicity, With A Generous Gift Of Space For Each Herb And Bush And Tree, Each Stem Of Grass, So That The Living Organism Stands Out Bold And Brave And Vivid Against The Lifeless Sand And Barren Rock. The Extreme Clarity Of The Desert Light Is Equaled By The Extreme Individuation Of Desert Life-forms. Love Flowers Best In Openness And Freedom.
Flower
Space
Light
Instant Communication Is Not Communication At All But Merely A Frantic, Trivial, Nerve-wracking Bombardment Of Cliches, Threats, Fads, Fashions, Gibberish And Advertising.
Fashion
Communication
Nerves
A Man Without A Horse Is Like A Man Without A Weapon: Stunted And Naked.
Horse
Men
Naked
To The Question: Wilderness, Who Needs It? Doc Would Say: Because We Like The Taste Of Freedom, Comrades. Because We Like The Smell Of Danger. But, Thought Hayduke, What About The Smell Of Fear, Dad?
Dad
Fear
Smell
Come With Me, The River Said, Close Your Eyes And Quiet Your Limbs And Float With Me Into The Wonder And Mystery Of The Canyons, See The Unknown And The Little Known, Look Upon The Stone Gods Face To Face, See Medusa, Drink My Waters, Hear My Song, Feel My Power, Come Along And Drift With Me Toward The Distant, Ultimate And Legendary Sea.
Song
Eye
Sea
There Are Two Kinds Of People I Cannot Abide: Bigots And Any Well-organized Ethnic Group.
Two
People
Groups
Whatever We Cannot Easily Understand We Call God; This Saves Much Wear And Tear On The Brain Tissues.
Positive
Brain
Tears
I Understand And Sympathize With The Reasonable Needs Of A Reasonable Number Of People On A Finite Continent. All Life Depends Upon Other Life. But What Is Happening Today, In North America, Is Not Rational Use But Irrational Massacre. Man The Pest, Multiplied To The Swarming Stage, Is Attacking The Remaining Forests Like A Plague Of Locusts On A Field Of Grain.
Men
Numbers
America
Mental Degeneracy May Be Caused By Lead Poisoning. Or By A Poor Dip In The Gene Pool.
Dip
May
Pool
John Updike: Our Greatest Suburban Chic-boutique Man Of Letters. A Smug And Fatal Complacency Has Stunted His Growth Beyond Hope Of Surgical Repair. Not Enough Passion In His Collected Works To Generate Steam In A Beer Can. Nevertheless, He Is Considered By Some Critics To Be America's Finest *living* Author: Hold A Chilled Mirror To His Lips And You Will See, Presently, A Fine And Dewy Moisture Condensing -- Like A Faery Breath! -- Upon The Glass.
Passion
Beer
Men
The Function Of An Ideal Is Not To Be Realized But, Like That Of The North Star, To Serve As A Guiding Point.
Stars
Function
North Star
Belief? What Do I Believe In? I Believe In Sun. In Rock. In The Dogma Of The Sun And The Doctrine Of The Rock. I Believe In Blood, Fire, Woman, Rivers, Eagles, Storm, Drums, Flutes, Banjos, And Broom-tailed Horses.
Religious
Horse
Crazy
All Governments Require Enemy Governments.
Government
Enemy
Art, Science, Philosophy, Religion -- Each Offers At Best Only A Crude Simplification Of Actual Living Experience.
Art
Philosophy
Crude
I Am An Enemy Of The State. But Isn't Everyone?
Enemy
States
It Is Not Death Or Dying That Is Tragic, But Rather To Have Existed Without Fully Participating In Life- That Is The Deepest Personal Tragedy.
Tragedy
Dying
Tragic
Music Clouds The Intellect But Clarifies The Heart.
Heart
Clouds
Intellect
Filling Out The Form: Race? Human. Religion? Paiute. Occupation? Criminal Anarchy. Hobbies? Survival With Honor.
Race
Survival
Honor
How Strange And Wonderful Is Our Home, Our Earth, With Its Swirling Vaporous Atmosphere, Its Flowing And Frozen Liquids, Its Trembling Plants, Its Creeping, Crawling, Climbing Creatures, The Croaking Things With Wings That Hang On Rocks And Soar Through The Fog, The Furry Grass, The Scaly Seas.
Home
Rocks
Fog
The Rich Are Not Very Nice. That's Why They're Rich.
Nice
Rich
Very Nice
There Comes A Point, In Literary Objectivity, When The Author's Self- Effacement Is Hard To Distinguish From Moral Cowardice.
Self
Objectivity
Moral
I Want My Body To Help Fertilize The Growth Of A Cactus Or Cliff Rose Or Sagebrush Or Tree.
Rose
Tree
Growth
There Is A Deep, Abiding, Unshakable Satisfaction In A Life Of Complete Failure.
Abiding
Satisfaction
Unshakable
If The World Is Irrational, We Can Never Know It -- Either It Or Its Irrationality.
World
Irrational
Knows
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