Hermann Hesse’s phrases are an invitation to reflection on life and the search for identity, a gift for all those who want to go further, question themselves and discover, a legacy of great psychological and spiritual depth that is worth living.
Hermann Hesse was a German writer and painter who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1946 in recognition of his literary career, his books have been translated into more than 40 languages and more than 30 million copies of his works have been sold.
- Some of his most important works are? Demian? (1919).
- “Sidarta” (1922) and? The wolf of the steppes? (1927).
- Among others.
- In most of them it reflects his interest in oriental mysticism and the spiritual realm.
- As well as the insatiable search for new values and points of reference.
Those who knew him speak of him as a man of difficult personality and a little antisocial, loved loneliness and immersed himself in the depths of his interior, a creative, isolated and somewhat unstable person who knew how to put words to everything he felt. In fact, he is considered an “author in crisis” for his constant search for identity.
“The life of every man is a way for himself, the attempt of a path, the profile of a path. “
Fate is a way for us. A path that we travel day by day to get to know each other better, some people realize soon, others pass the time without even realizing it. Without a doubt, one of Hermann Hesse’s phrases to remember when we are lost.
“When we hate someone, we hate in their image something that is in us. “
It is one of Hermann Hesse’s strangest phrases and can even lead to the rejection of some readers, however, this phenomenon in the field of psychology is known as psychological projection and corresponds to the attribution to others of their own emotions and disabilities.
On a positive note, an example would be the stage of infatuation in a romantic relationship, in which both members project characteristics and virtues that do not correspond to reality, exalt your generosity, your sympathy or your good humor. From a negative point of view, psychological projection occurs when we blame someone for avoiding assuming what happened, for example, an insecure person can punish his partner by telling him that he is not making things easier for him because he is always showing signs of mistrust, when in fact they are not.
Psychological projection is a complex issue. It is not easy to accept that you project in others what you do not like at home, knowing us and above all accepting our shadows will prevent us from being actors and victims of such projections.
“When someone finds something they really need, it’s not chance that provides it to them, but the person himself. Does your own desire and need lead you to it?
Effort is critical to achieving what we want. It is the engine that drives us, with determination and desire. It’s no use dreaming if we don’t plan, if we don’t set a plan and don’t look for a way to achieve our goals.
Hermann Hesse has been very clear about it: who really wants something looks for all the ways to achieve it. There are no excuses or obstacles for those who are trying to achieve their goal. At least try.
“No one can see or understand in others what he himself has not experienced. “
Putting yourself in each other’s place is no easy task, observing the world from your point of view, accepting your feelings, and acting accordingly is more complex than it seems, how many times do we feel that no one understands us?, no matter how hard we try, are we unable to find logic in the behavior of others or are we making mistakes in making assignments?
We believe that empathy puts you in each other’s place, and it is, but not from our point of view of the world, but from yours: your circumstances, problems, illusions, fears, etc. , you must have lived your story, and that’s impossible. That’s why it’s so hard to understand and feel understood.
“Everything seems a little smaller when you say it out loud. “
This is one of Hermann Hesse’s phrases that we have to take into account most in the day to day, we drown in discomfort, negative feelings and thoughts that hurt us, the best option is to free ourselves from everything that slows us down in one way or another
Giving voice to our negative emotions helps us to evacuate, to unload that weight that sometimes tires us and tires us, in addition, talking also improves our relationship. Silencing our opinion is an obstacle to getting along with others, a big wall that removes and causes ties to lose their complicity.
“Happiness is love, nothing else
After many years of introspection and contact with himself, Hesse came to this precious conclusion: there is nothing like love to feel happiness. For him, nothing compares to this wonderful feeling.
This is one of Hermann Hesse’s phrases that contains more wisdom and beauty, through it, sends us a deep message to remind us of the most important thing, a call from your deepest being to humanity.
Don’t say that no feeling is small or unworthy, do we not live on anything other than our poor, beautiful, magnificent feelings, and every injustice we commit with one of them is a star we erase?
It is always important how we feel, whether positive or negative, intense or weak, the emotional realm is one of the central axes of our lives, so recognizing how we feel and how to validate ourselves is essential, otherwise, if we do not know how we feel, we will immerse ourselves in a black halo of discomfort and suffering.
Misunderstanding our sadness, denying that we feel angry, or underestimating our moments of joy are behaviors that take us away from ourselves, that is precisely why Hesse is sending this message. In his eternal quest for identity, he discovers the importance of recognizing one’s feelings to know each other.
As we see, Hermann Hesse’s phrases are a precious legacy for anyone who wants to know more about what happens inside phrases to consult in our most existentialist moments that invite us to reflect on the connection with ourselves.