“Oh, there must be a little bit of air, a little bit of happiness, but chiefly to let the form be felt, to make the lines of the silhouette speak. But let the whole be sombre.”

Chance doesn’t deal happiness with an even hand — some lives are more weighed down by sorrow than others. It can be easy, and misguided, to romanticize suffering ...........Read more 

Hermann Hesse (1877-1962) German-born poet, novelist, and painter. Much of his writings explores the individual's search for authenticity, self-knowledge and spirituality. He received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1946.

Click to read the article about Henry Miller's "On Turning Eighty" on Brain Pickings

James R. Sherman