--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There has been a sustained and dreadfully…" description: "\"“There has been a sustained and dreadfully successful campaign to make most people dissatisfied with what I would call the normal life and some would c..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15e/dervla-murphy-20135_life_there-has-been-a-sustained-and-dreadfull_3195030.png" --- # There has been a sustained and dreadfully successful… ![“There has been a sustained and dreadfully successful campaign to make most people dissatisfied with what I would call the normal life and some would call the simple life.” quote by Dervla Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15e/dervla-murphy-20135_life_there-has-been-a-sustained-and-dreadfull_3195030.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15e/dervla-murphy-20135_life_there-has-been-a-sustained-and-dreadfull_3195030.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15e/dervla-murphy-20135_life_there-has-been-a-sustained-and-dreadfull_3195030.png) > ““There has been a sustained and dreadfully successful campaign to make most people dissatisfied with what I would call the normal life and some would call the simple life.”” [Dervla Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dervla-murphy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Society pushes people toward complex, materialistic lives, causing dissatisfaction; simple living offers contentment. **In simple terms:** Complex life creates unhappiness; simple life satisfies. Key Takeaway Consider simplifying your lifestyle. Themes consumerism contentment life choices Mood contemplative critical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - evaluating personal values - reducing material desire Key Concepts minimalism philosophical critique social pressure Questions to Reflect On - Do you feel pressured to complicate life? - What simple pleasures bring you joy? A Different Perspective Simplicity may be impractical for some. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Normal life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/normal-life/) [Simple life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/simple-life/) [Simplicity-in-life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/simplicity-in-life/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) ## Related quotes > [“If we open our eyes to simplicity, we may discover serene pleasures scattered around us, quietly waiting to be noticed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bhuwan-thapaliya/if-we-open-our-eyes-to-simplicity-we-may-discover-serene-pleasures/) [Bhuwan Thapaliya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bhuwan-thapaliya/) > [“Love is Simple (The Sonnet) Truth is simple, Lies are complex. Light is simple, Darkness is complex. Honesty is simple, Deceit is complex. Humility…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/love-is-simple-the-sonnet-truth-is-simple-lies-are-complex-light-is/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [Advertising prods people into wanting more and better things. Of course advertising makes people dissatisfied with what they have - makes them raise their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernice-fitz-gibbon/advertising-prods-people-into-wanting-more-and-better-things-of/) [Bernice Fitz-Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernice-fitz-gibbon/) > [That which makes people dissatisfied with their condition, is the chimerical idea they form of the happiness of others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-thomson/that-which-makes-people-dissatisfied-with-their-condition-is-the/) [James Thomson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-thomson/) > [We live in a world where a lot of people are dissatisfied and can't wait, in 140 characters or less, to tell you how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-buck/we-live-in-a-world-where-a-lot-of-people-are-dissatisfied-and-can-t/) [Joe Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-buck/) > [Most people are dissatisfied with their bag, they work hard to get a damn raise. Inflation eats it up. They're locked into the whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-paycheck/most-people-are-dissatisfied-with-their-bag-they-work-hard-to-get-a/) [Johnny Paycheck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-paycheck/) > [To win a successful campaign against an opponent that has a lot more name recognition and a lot more money, I have to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corey-stewart/to-win-a-successful-campaign-against-an-opponent-that-has-a-lot-more/) [Corey Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corey-stewart/) > [I'm well aware of the dynamics of turnout and measuring enthusiasm and identifying and turning out voters. That's something I'm cognizant of in running…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-zeldin/i-m-well-aware-of-the-dynamics-of-turnout-and-measuring-enthusiasm/) [Lee Zeldin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-zeldin/) > [Well, paycheck protection is an important ingredient for a successful campaign finance reform measure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-card/well-paycheck-protection-is-an-important-ingredient-for-a-successful/) [Andrew Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-card/) > [If it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a whole agency to make a successful campaign.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-guerrero/if-it-takes-a-village-to-raise-a-child-it-takes-a-whole-agency-to/) David Guerrero > [When Barack Obama was asked about his lack of executive experience in 2008, he pointed to his successful campaign as proof he could manage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dickerson/when-barack-obama-was-asked-about-his-lack-of-executive-experience-in/) [John Dickerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dickerson/) > [I would say a successful campaign reflects the desire of the people who are there to support a candidate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darryl-glenn/i-would-say-a-successful-campaign-reflects-the-desire-of-the-people/) [Darryl Glenn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darryl-glenn/) > [“A Godly Person Is Living Simple And Yet Happy An Ungodly Person Is Living Luxuriously And Yet So Sad”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baba-tunde-ojo-olubiyo/a-godly-person-is-living-simple-and-yet-happy-an-ungodly-person-is/) [Baba Tunde Ojo-Olubiyo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baba-tunde-ojo-olubiyo/) > [“Simplifying your life is about simplifying yourself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamerlan-kuzgov/simplifying-your-life-is-about-simplifying-yourself/) [Tamerlan Kuzgov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamerlan-kuzgov/) > [“Take the time to observe the simple and ponder upon the seemingly insignificant. You’ll find a wealth of depth and beauty.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melanie-charlene/take-the-time-to-observe-the-simple-and-ponder-upon-the-seemingly/) Melanie Charlene ## More by Dervla Murphy > [“Even a brief glimpse of what we were is valuable to help understand what we are”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dervla-murphy/even-a-brief-glimpse-of-what-we-were-is-valuable-to-help-understand/) [Dervla Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dervla-murphy/) > [one feels guilty on behalf of Western civilisation. What damage are we doing, blindly and swiftly, to those races who are being taught that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dervla-murphy/one-feels-guilty-on-behalf-of-western-civilisation-what-damage-are-we/) [Dervla Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dervla-murphy/) > [The Irish have a flair for wringing from death the last drop of emotion and they do not quite understand those who react otherwise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dervla-murphy/the-irish-have-a-flair-for-wringing-from-death-the-last-drop-of/) [Dervla Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dervla-murphy/) > [On my tenth birthday a bicycle and an atlas coincided as presents and a few days later I decided to cycle to India.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dervla-murphy/on-my-tenth-birthday-a-bicycle-and-an-atlas-coincided-as-presents-and/) [Dervla Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dervla-murphy/) > [Undoubtedly the Afghans must be, by our standards, the best-looking people in the world. They have everything; height, proportions, carriage, features and complexion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dervla-murphy/undoubtedly-the-afghans-must-be-by-our-standards-the-best-looking/) [Dervla Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dervla-murphy/) > [“I thank God for my sanguine temperament, which refuses to allow me to believe in disaster until it is finally manifest”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dervla-murphy/i-thank-god-for-my-sanguine-temperament-which-refuses-to-allow-me-to/) [Dervla Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dervla-murphy/) > [ \[On Addis Ababa:\] Among the city's handicaps are an immaturity for which no one can be blamed, as it was founded only eighty years… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dervla-murphy/on-addis-ababa-among-the-city-s-handicaps-are-an-immaturity-for-which/) [Dervla Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dervla-murphy/) > [Buying a bicycle is a momentous event, akin to marriage: you are acquiring a partner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dervla-murphy/buying-a-bicycle-is-a-momentous-event-akin-to-marriage-you-are/) [Dervla Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dervla-murphy/) > [one of the advantages of cycling is that it automatically prevents a journey from becoming an Expedition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dervla-murphy/one-of-the-advantages-of-cycling-is-that-it-automatically-prevents-a/) [Dervla Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dervla-murphy/) > [hatred, however apparently justifiable, excusable or inevitable, always damages the hater.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dervla-murphy/hatred-however-apparently-justifiable-excusable-or-inevitable-always/) [Dervla Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dervla-murphy/) > [On my tenth birthday a bicycle and an atlas coincided as gifts, and a few days later I decided to cycle to India...However, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dervla-murphy/on-my-tenth-birthday-a-bicycle-and-an-atlas-coincided-as-gifts-and-a/) [Dervla Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dervla-murphy/) > [Is this something else our age does - on the one hand make communication easier than ever before, while on the other hand widening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dervla-murphy/is-this-something-else-our-age-does-on-the-one-hand-make/) [Dervla Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dervla-murphy/) > [apartheid still hangs in the air like a poisonous cloud left over from chemical warfare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dervla-murphy/apartheid-still-hangs-in-the-air-like-a-poisonous-cloud-left-over/) [Dervla Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dervla-murphy/) > [the sudden violent dispossession accompanying a refugee flight is much more than the loss of a permanent home and a traditional occupation, or than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dervla-murphy/the-sudden-violent-dispossession-accompanying-a-refugee-flight-is/) [Dervla Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dervla-murphy/) > [... strong bonds are forged in high emotional temperatures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dervla-murphy/strong-bonds-are-forged-in-high-emotional-temperatures/) [Dervla Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dervla-murphy/) [Explore all 31 Dervla Murphy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dervla-murphy/) ## More Life quotes > [Of all the people who have affected my life and influenced the choices I've made, none has been more important than my father. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/of-all-the-people-who-have-affected-my-life-and-influenced-the/) [Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life works most perfectly when a reciprocal love relationship is in place between man and God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/life-works-most-perfectly-when-a-reciprocal-love-relationship-is-in/) [Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/) > [I value the experiences that come with life too much to sit by and not put my full effort into them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-miller/i-value-the-experiences-that-come-with-life-too-much-to-sit-by-and/) [Jim Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-miller/) > [Entertainment is a sacred pursuit when done well. When done well, it raises the quality of human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/entertainment-is-a-sacred-pursuit-when-done-well-when-done-well-it/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [“There's more to life than you can see. Your sight is limited.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tammy-kling/there-s-more-to-life-than-you-can-see-your-sight-is-limited/) [Tammy Kling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tammy-kling/) > [“I've spent much of my life calling my intuition "something wrong with me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deanna-l-lawlis/i-ve-spent-much-of-my-life-calling-my-intuition-something-wrong-with/) Deanna L. Lawlis > [When you do things they're absolutely right at that time for you and it can always teach you something about yourself. You can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kym-marsh/when-you-do-things-they-re-absolutely-right-at-that-time-for-you-and/) [Kym Marsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kym-marsh/) > [The only people who think the Internet is a calamity are people whose lives have been hurt by it; the only people who insist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/the-only-people-who-think-the-internet-is-a-calamity-are-people-whose/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [The one thing that I keep learning over and over again is that I don't know nothing. I mean, that's my life lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-johnson/the-one-thing-that-i-keep-learning-over-and-over-again-is-that-i-don/) [Dwayne Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-johnson/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The future is only an indifferent void no one cares about, but the past is filled with life, and its countenance is irritating, repellent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-future-is-only-an-indifferent-void-no-one-cares-about-but-the/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Two things revolutionised life: moving to the countryside and falling in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-love/two-things-revolutionised-life-moving-to-the-countryside-and-falling/) [Nick Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-love/) > [But just remember, life without me would be even more unbearable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/but-just-remember-life-without-me-would-be-even-more-unbearable/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) [Browse all 265,290 Life quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“There has been a sustained and dreadfully successful campaign to make most people dissatisfied with what I would call the normal life and some would call the simple life.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dervla Murphy" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dervla-murphy/there-has-been-a-sustained-and-dreadfully-successful-campaign-to-make/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Life" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dervla-murphy/there-has-been-a-sustained-and-dreadfully-successful-campaign-to-make/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15e/dervla-murphy-20135_life_there-has-been-a-sustained-and-dreadfull_3195030.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15e/dervla-murphy-20135_life_there-has-been-a-sustained-and-dreadfull_3195030.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15e/dervla-murphy-20135_life_there-has-been-a-sustained-and-dreadfull_3195030.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There has been a sustained and dreadfully successful campaign to make most people dissatisfied with what I…” — Dervla Murphy", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Dervla Murphy", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dervla-murphy/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“There has been a sustained and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dervla-murphy/there-has-been-a-sustained-and-dreadfully-successful-campaign-to-make/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dervla-murphy/there-has-been-a-sustained-and-dreadfully-successful-campaign-to-make/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```