--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: At every stage, addiction is driven by…" description: "\"At every stage, addiction is driven by one of the most powerful, mysterious, and vital forces of human existence. What drives addiction is longing--a l..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1e/cornelius-plantinga-38829_addiction_at-every-stage-addiction-is-driven-by-on_602089.jpg" --- # At every stage, addiction is driven by one of the most… ![“At every stage, addiction is driven by one of the most powerful, mysterious, and vital forces of human existence. What drives addiction is longing--a longing not just of brain, belly, or loins but finally of the heart.” quote by Cornelius Plantinga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1e/cornelius-plantinga-38829_addiction_at-every-stage-addiction-is-driven-by-on_602089.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1e/cornelius-plantinga-38829_addiction_at-every-stage-addiction-is-driven-by-on_602089.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1e/cornelius-plantinga-38829_addiction_at-every-stage-addiction-is-driven-by-on_602089.jpg) > “At every stage, addiction is driven by one of the most powerful, mysterious, and vital forces of human existence. What drives addiction is longing--a longing not just of brain, belly, or loins but finally of the heart.” [Cornelius Plantinga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelius-plantinga/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote describes addiction as driven by a deep, heart‑centered longing, not merely physical or psychological cravings, highlighting its profound emotional nature. **In simple terms:** Addiction stems from a deep heart longing, beyond physical cravings. Key Takeaway Address the emotional core of addiction. Themes addiction longing human nature emotion Mood empathetic thoughtful Type psychological spiritual When to use this quote - therapy - spiritual counseling - support groups - personal reflection Key Concepts psychology spirituality needs theory Questions to Reflect On - What unmet needs fuel addictive behavior? - How can we meet those needs healthily? A Different Perspective Focusing only on emotional longing may overlook physiological dependencies. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Addiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/addiction/) [Addiction Driven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/addiction-driven-2447194/) [Addiction Longing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/addiction-longing-4906591/) [Belly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belly/) [Brain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brain/) [Driven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/driven/) [Drives Addiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drives-addiction-3317953/) [Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) [Force](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/force/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Human existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-existence/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Longing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/longing/) [Longing Longing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/longing-longing-1122248/) [Most powerful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/most-powerful/) [Motivation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motivation/) [Mysterious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mysterious/) [Nostalgia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nostalgia/) [Powerful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/powerful/) [Stage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stage/) [Wine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wine/) ## Related quotes > [“Tribalism is an addiction that is driven by false beliefs that need to be reflected back to be perceived as true.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefan-molyneux/tribalism-is-an-addiction-that-is-driven-by-false-beliefs-that-need/) [Stefan Molyneux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefan-molyneux/) > [My characters' addictions are what makes them a bit stylized or "grotesque" - not just in appearance but through what drives them. Addiction is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/porochista-khakpour/my-characters-addictions-are-what-makes-them-a-bit-stylized-or/) [Porochista Khakpour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/porochista-khakpour/) > [The underlying motivation that drives all addiction is our insistence on avoiding pain. However, the pain you are avoiding is based in the past,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-jacobson/the-underlying-motivation-that-drives-all-addiction-is-our-insistence/) [Leonard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-jacobson/) > [From attachment comes longing, and longing breeds anger. From anger comes delusion, and from delusion, confused memory. From confused memory comes the ruin of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/from-attachment-comes-longing-and-longing-breeds-anger-from-anger/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [Endure what life God gives and ask no longer span; Cease to remember the delights of youth, travel-wearied aged man; Delight becomes death-longing if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/endure-what-life-god-gives-and-ask-no-longer-span-cease-to-remember/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [Some people can't go into church any longer to feel this longing, but they still have the longing, so what do they do? Well,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/some-people-can-t-go-into-church-any-longer-to-feel-this-longing-but/) [Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) > [The sweetest thing in all my life has been the longing — to reach the Mountain, to find the place where all the beauty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/the-sweetest-thing-in-all-my-life-has-been-the-longing-to-reach-the/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [I am longing to be with you longing for your warm hugs with matching cheesy lines longing to feel your love and make another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce/i-am-longing-to-be-with-you-longing-for-your-warm-hugs-with-matching/) [Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce/) > [“In your longing for your giant self lies your goodness: and that longing is in all of you. But in some of you that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kahlil-gibran/in-your-longing-for-your-giant-self-lies-your-goodness-and-that/) [Kahlil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kahlil-gibran/) > [That single thought is enough. The impulse increases to a wish, the wish to a desire, the desire to an uncontrollable longing, and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/that-single-thought-is-enough-the-impulse-increases-to-a-wish-the/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [“My ears hear what others cannot hear; small faraway things people cannot normally see are visible to me. These senses are the fruits of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/india-stoker/my-ears-hear-what-others-cannot-hear-small-faraway-things-people/) [India Stoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/india-stoker/) > [“I had looked into the distance so long that I hadn't seen what was near at hand. If we don't cherish those who stay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-clark/i-had-looked-into-the-distance-so-long-that-i-hadn-t-seen-what-was/) [Janice Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-clark/) > [C.S. Lewis had a big influence on me in this spiritual realm - this sort of sense of longing. A longing for a knowledge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-collins/c-s-lewis-had-a-big-influence-on-me-in-this-spiritual-realm-this-sort/) [Francis Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-collins/) > [“And it seemed to me that longing was everything, longing is all we are.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valerie-martin/and-it-seemed-to-me-that-longing-was-everything-longing-is-all-we-are/) [Valerie Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valerie-martin/) > [“Woe entreats: Go! Away, woe! But all that suffers wants to live, that it may become ripe and joyous and longing- longing for what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/woe-entreats-go-away-woe-but-all-that-suffers-wants-to-live-that-it/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) ## More by Cornelius Plantinga > [To be a responsible person is to find one's role in the building of shalom, the re-webbing of God, humanity and all creation in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelius-plantinga/to-be-a-responsible-person-is-to-find-one-s-role-in-the-building-of/) [Cornelius Plantinga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelius-plantinga/) > [A humble person is more likely to be self confident... a person with real humility knows how much they are loved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelius-plantinga/a-humble-person-is-more-likely-to-be-self-confident-a-person-with/) [Cornelius Plantinga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelius-plantinga/) > [Because they are human beings, addicts long for wholeness, for fulfillment, and for the final good that believers call God. 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So it is with our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelius-plantinga/we-know-the-excitement-of-getting-a-present-we-love-to-unwrap-it-to/) [Cornelius Plantinga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelius-plantinga/) > [To speak of sin without grace is to minimize the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the fruit of the Spirit, and the hope of shalom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelius-plantinga/to-speak-of-sin-without-grace-is-to-minimize-the-resurrection-of/) [Cornelius Plantinga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelius-plantinga/) > [Recalling and confessing our sin is like taking out the garbage: once is not enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelius-plantinga/recalling-and-confessing-our-sin-is-like-taking-out-the-garbage-once/) [Cornelius Plantinga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelius-plantinga/) > [For the Christian church… to ignore, euphemize, or otherwise mute the lethal reality of sin is to cut the nerve of the gospel. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelius-plantinga/for-the-christian-church-to-ignore-euphemize-or-otherwise-mute-the/) [Cornelius Plantinga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelius-plantinga/) > [It must be an odd feeling to be thankful to nobody in particular. Christians in public institutions often see this odd thing happening on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelius-plantinga/it-must-be-an-odd-feeling-to-be-thankful-to-nobody-in-particular/) [Cornelius Plantinga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelius-plantinga/) [Explore all 11 Cornelius Plantinga quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelius-plantinga/) ## More Addiction quotes > [What has drug addiction done for me? It's cost me my career, my fortune and basically my sex life when I found out I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robbin-crosby/what-has-drug-addiction-done-for-me-it-s-cost-me-my-career-my-fortune/) [Robbin Crosby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robbin-crosby/) > [“The idea that creative endeavor and mind-altering substances are entwined is one of the great pop-intellectual myths of our time... Creative people probably do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-idea-that-creative-endeavor-and-mind-altering-substances-are/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [I really think the disease aspect gets lost when you're talking about alcoholism and addiction; it's not like you're battling leukemia or a heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-irsay/i-really-think-the-disease-aspect-gets-lost-when-you-re-talking-about/) [Jim Irsay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-irsay/) > [I had an addiction to artificial points of success. Like being able to run for this or run for that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruben-gallego/i-had-an-addiction-to-artificial-points-of-success-like-being-able-to/) [Ruben Gallego](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruben-gallego/) > [“Addictions are just symptoms of underlying issues, and in my view Nikki self-medicated the emotional pain of his childhood, and being away from his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-sixx/addictions-are-just-symptoms-of-underlying-issues-and-in-my-view/) [Nikki Sixx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-sixx/) > [“Oil. The great addiction of the civilized world”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-warren/oil-the-great-addiction-of-the-civilized-world/) [Andrew Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-warren/) > [“They say when you fall in love in love with someone that person becomes like a drug,an addiction you don't want to live without.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/they-say-when-you-fall-in-love-in-love-with-someone-that-person/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Addictions - Run to Jesus instead of running to your addiction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-meyer/addictions-run-to-jesus-instead-of-running-to-your-addiction/) [Joyce Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-meyer/) > [Music is my personal addiction. So much of everything I've done has only been to open more doors for the music itself. It all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dolly-parton/music-is-my-personal-addiction-so-much-of-everything-i-ve-done-has/) [Dolly Parton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dolly-parton/) > [“I am made of a thousand ghosts. Only you can shoot me down.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bella-james/i-am-made-of-a-thousand-ghosts-only-you-can-shoot-me-down/) [Bella James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bella-james/) > [Religious work is one of the best ways to keep from facing your reality if you are Christian, if you are using it to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-miller/religious-work-is-one-of-the-best-ways-to-keep-from-facing-your/) [Keith Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-miller/) > [Cold sweats, hallucinations I wanna speed to stop. 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