Feeling and longing are the motive forces behind all human endeavor and human creations.
longingquotes
The longing to behold this pre-established harmony [of phenomena and theoretical principles] is the source of the inexhaustible patience and perseverance with which Planck has devoted himself … The state of mind which enables a man to do work of this kind is akin to that of the religious worshiper or the lover; the daily effort comes from no deliberate intention or program, but straight from the heart.
If, therefore, there is some end of our actions that we wish for on account of itself, the rest being things we wish for on account of this end, and if we do not choose all things on account of something else — for in this way the process will go on infinitely such that the longing involved is empty and pointless — clearly this would be the good, that is, the best.
There is something I longed for more than all the rest – without realizing it properly. It wasn’t love, heaven forbid, nor glory, nor wealth. It was… anyway, I had imagined that at certain moments my life could take on a rare and precious quality.
Love in the form of longing and deprivation lowers the self regard.
Longing is the agony of the nearness of the distant.
