0x2163beb2…8832sent to0xecb92cc7…1463·#25,430,900·0x44718ff9…4b0549
At times I struggle to explain why 1984 is my favourite book of all time. It's certainly not fun or enjoyable to read. Orwell's style is rather dry & aside from 'Animal Farm' & 'Homage To Catalonia' most of his other works are uninspiring. I don't believe the fictional world of 1984 is likely to occur in our world & wouldn't be sustainable even if originated into existence. After reading it for the umpteenth time I'll even question myself as to why?
Yet upon reflection I can see how it has shaped me & my world view more than anything else. Little lessons that add up to how I think, what I believe, who I am, the way I live and act and behave. Below is a selection of quotes & what they have taught me:
"Never, for any reason on earth, could you wish for an increase of pain. Of pain you could wish only one thing: that it should stop. Nothing in the world was so bad as physical pain. In the face of pain there are no heroes."
- It's ok to dislike pain, yet there will be suffering in your life. Figure out what is avoidable & unavoidable. Examine your pain and you'll find out most is crafted by your thoughts.
“Doublethink means the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one’s mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them.”
- In the book this is a skill developed by O'Brien and the like and has a negative connotation. Yet life is inherently paradoxical. You cannot outthink a paradox. Lean into them and develop a humour of the absurd.
“Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.”
- You get to decide your destiny. Your interpretation of reality will affect your life quality much more than the actual nature of 'objective' reality.
“There was truth and there was untruth, and if you clung to the truth even against the whole world, you were not mad.”
- Take heart if you desire the truth, it can be alienating & cruel to follow. This courage also needs to be tempered with proof that you are actually correct