--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Life, authentic life, is supposed to be…" description: "\"“Life, authentic life, is supposed to be all struggle, unflagging action and affirmation, but when I look back I see that the greater part of my energi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47c/john-banville-2532_authentic-life_life-authentic-life-is-supposed-to-be-al_1527305.jpg" --- # Life, authentic life, is supposed to be all struggle… ![“Life, authentic life, is supposed to be all struggle, unflagging action and affirmation, but when I look back I see that the greater part of my energies was always given over to the simple search for shelter, for comfort, for, yes, I admit it, for cosiness. This is a surprising, not to say a…” quote by John Banville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47c/john-banville-2532_authentic-life_life-authentic-life-is-supposed-to-be-al_1527305.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47c/john-banville-2532_authentic-life_life-authentic-life-is-supposed-to-be-al_1527305.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47c/john-banville-2532_authentic-life_life-authentic-life-is-supposed-to-be-al_1527305.jpg) > ““Life, authentic life, is supposed to be all struggle, unflagging action and affirmation, but when I look back I see that the greater part of my energies was always given over to the simple search for shelter, for comfort, for, yes, I admit it, for cosiness. This is a surprising, not to say a shocking, realization. Before, I saw myself as something of a buccaneer, facing all-comers with a cutlass in my teeth, but now I am compelled to acknowledge that this was a delusion. To be concealed, protected, guarded, that is all I have truly wanted, to burrow down into a place of womby warmth and cower there, hidden from the sky’s indifferent gaze and the harsh air’s damagings. That is why the past is just such a retreat for me, I go there eagerly, rubbing my hands and shaking off the cold present and the colder future. And yet, what existence, really, does it have, the past? After all, it is only what the present was, once, the present that is gone, no more than that. And yet.”” [John Banville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-banville/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People often hide behind comfort and safety, mistaking retreat for strength, while true vitality lies in confronting reality. **In simple terms:** Comfort can become a deceptive refuge. Key Takeaway Face reality rather than retreat into comfort. Themes comfort illusion self‑deception Mood melancholic introspective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - career change - personal relationships - creative pursuits Key Concepts authenticity existential search psychology Questions to Reflect On - What comforts keep you from taking risks? - How can you balance safety with authentic living? A Different Perspective Comfort may protect but also limits growth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Authentic life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/authentic-life/) [Irish writers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/irish-writers/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Realization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realization/) ## Related quotes > [“Life, authentic life, is supposed to be all struggle, unflagging action and affirmation, the will butting its blunt head against the world's wall, suchlike,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-banville/life-authentic-life-is-supposed-to-be-all-struggle-unflagging-action/) [John Banville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-banville/) > [A successful life is an authentic life. Happiness and creativity rest on a foundation of transparency to yourself and others. 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I wonder…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-p-donleavy-2/when-i-die-i-want-to-decompose-in-a-barrel-of-porter-and-have-it/) [J. P. Donleavy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-p-donleavy-2/) > [Ireland is a fruitful mother of genius, but a barren nurse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boyle-o-reilly/ireland-is-a-fruitful-mother-of-genius-but-a-barren-nurse/) [John Boyle O'Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boyle-o-reilly/) > [“Declan Kiberd: Irish writers were an early warning system about abuse Artists played a vital role in the State's formation and since independence have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/declan-kiberd/declan-kiberd-irish-writers-were-an-early-warning-system-about-abuse/) Declan Kiberd ## More by John Banville > [I've always been fascinated by physics and cosmology. 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We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-banville/what-did-i-brood-on-sitting-there-in-the-classic-pose-with-my-elbows/) [John Banville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-banville/) > [“Her own mother had died when Anna was twelve and since then father and daughter had faced the world like a pair of nineteenth-century…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-banville/her-own-mother-had-died-when-anna-was-twelve-and-since-then-father/) [John Banville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-banville/) > [The effect of prizes on one's career - if that is what to call it - is considerable, since they give one more clout…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-banville/the-effect-of-prizes-on-one-s-career-if-that-is-what-to-call-it-is/) [John Banville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-banville/) > [“Of all the things we fashioned for them that they might be comforted, dawn is the one that works. 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The finest fictions are cold at heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-banville/art-is-amoral-whether-we-accept-this-or-not-it-does-not-take-sides/) [John Banville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-banville/) > [“At thee seaside all is narrow horizontals, the world reduced to a few long straight lines pressed between earth and sky.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-banville/at-thee-seaside-all-is-narrow-horizontals-the-world-reduced-to-a-few/) [John Banville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-banville/) > [“It seems to me a work of art is the evidence offered by a fantastically observant witness”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-banville/it-seems-to-me-a-work-of-art-is-the-evidence-offered-by-a/) [John Banville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-banville/) > [Everything we do is tinged with the knowledge that this may be the last time that we will do this, and that makes what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-banville/everything-we-do-is-tinged-with-the-knowledge-that-this-may-be-the/) [John Banville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-banville/) > [I like ideas. I find them more exciting than human behavior for the most part.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-banville/i-like-ideas-i-find-them-more-exciting-than-human-behavior-for-the/) [John Banville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-banville/) [Explore all 158 John Banville quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-banville/) ## More Authentic life quotes > [I think transwomen, and transpeople in general, show everyone that you can define what it means to be a man or woman on your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laverne-cox/i-think-transwomen-and-transpeople-in-general-show-everyone-that-you/) [Laverne Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laverne-cox/) > [...start thinking of yourself as an artist and your life as a work-in-progress. Works-in-progress are never perfect. But changes can be made...Art evolves. 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O'Neil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-h-o-neil/) > [“When, on a sea voyage, the ship is brought to anchor, you go out to fetch water and gather a few roots and shells…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/when-on-a-sea-voyage-the-ship-is-brought-to-anchor-you-go-out-to/) [Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) > [Eloquent and moving... an extraordinary testament to the enduring power of love - beyond faith and dogma. It reminds us of why we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-bartok/eloquent-and-moving-an-extraordinary-testament-to-the-enduring-power/) [Mira Bartok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-bartok/) > ["You're All That" goes back to really building a life from the core of who you're. And all of those things are layers. 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It’s important…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-stabile/establishing-clear-boundaries-is-a-necessary-part-of-living-an/) [Scott Stabile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-stabile/) [Browse all 57 Authentic life quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/authentic-life/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Life, authentic life, is supposed to be all struggle, unflagging action and affirmation, but when I look back I see that the greater part of my energies was always given over to the simple search for shelter, for comfort, for, yes, I admit it, for cosiness. This is a surprising, not to say a shocking, realization. Before, I saw myself as something of a buccaneer, facing all-comers with a cutlass in my teeth, but now I am compelled to acknowledge that this was a delusion. To be concealed, protected, guarded, that is all I have truly wanted, to burrow down into a place of womby warmth and cower there, hidden from the sky’s indifferent gaze and the harsh air’s damagings. That is why the past is just such a retreat for me, I go there eagerly, rubbing my hands and shaking off the cold present and the colder future. And yet, what existence, really, does it have, the past? After all, it is only what the present was, once, the present that is gone, no more than that. 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