--- 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, the will butting its blunt head against the world's wall, suc..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b88/john-banville-2532_affirmation_life-authentic-life-is-supposed-to-be-al_913012.jpg" --- # Life, authentic life, is supposed to be all struggle… ![“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, 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…” quote by John Banville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b88/john-banville-2532_affirmation_life-authentic-life-is-supposed-to-be-al_913012.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b88/john-banville-2532_affirmation_life-authentic-life-is-supposed-to-be-al_913012.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b88/john-banville-2532_affirmation_life-authentic-life-is-supposed-to-be-al_913012.jpg) > ““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, 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 shocking, realisation. 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 ever truly ever wanted, to burrow down into a place of womby warmth and cower there, hidden from the sky's indifferent gaze and the air's harsh 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. The narrator realizes that the pursuit of comfort and safety has overtaken his earlier heroic ambitions, revealing a hidden desire for protection. **In simple terms:** He values safety over struggle. Key Takeaway Accept that seeking comfort is natural. Themes identity comfort illusion self‑reflection existence Mood introspective melancholic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - personal journaling - therapy - creative writing - mindful meditation Key Concepts human desire psychology life purpose Questions to Reflect On - What comforts are you clinging to? - How can you balance safety with challenge? A Different Perspective The focus on comfort may lead to stagnation and avoidance of growth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Affirmation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affirmation/) [Authentic life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/authentic-life/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ## Related quotes > [“Life, authentic life, is supposed to be all struggle, unflagging action and affirmation, but when I look back I see that the greater part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-banville/life-authentic-life-is-supposed-to-be-all-struggle-unflagging-action-2/) [John Banville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-banville/) > [“The simple life is an authentic life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kilroy-j-oldster/the-simple-life-is-an-authentic-life/) [Kilroy J. Oldster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kilroy-j-oldster/) > [A successful life is an authentic life. Happiness and creativity rest on a foundation of transparency to yourself and others. 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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 Affirmation quotes > [One of the most powerful concepts, one which is a sure cure for lack of confidence, is the thought that God is with you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/one-of-the-most-powerful-concepts-one-which-is-a-sure-cure-for-lack/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [I started with the belief that every person who came to the laboratory was free to accept or to reject the dictates of authority.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-milgram/i-started-with-the-belief-that-every-person-who-came-to-the/) [Stanley Milgram](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-milgram/) > [Art, if it is successful in the task of questioning reality, if it is good painting and not merely a performance of dexterity, will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-swift/art-if-it-is-successful-in-the-task-of-questioning-reality-if-it-is/) [Patrick Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-swift/) > [There's a certain feeling of giving, a certain feeling of generosity in love songs. 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This is a surprising, not to say shocking, realisation. 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 ever truly ever wanted, to burrow down into a place of womby warmth and cower there, hidden from the sky's indifferent gaze and the air's harsh 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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