--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I sense that striving for wholeness is…" description: "\"I sense that striving for wholeness is, increasingly, a countercultural goal, as fragmented people make for better consumers.\" — Kathleen Norris" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/286/kathleen-norris-7283_consumerism_i-sense-that-striving-for-wholeness-is-i_1460993.png" --- # I sense that striving for wholeness is, increasingly, a… ![“I sense that striving for wholeness is, increasingly, a countercultural goal, as fragmented people make for better consumers.” quote by Kathleen Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/286/kathleen-norris-7283_consumerism_i-sense-that-striving-for-wholeness-is-i_1460993.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/286/kathleen-norris-7283_consumerism_i-sense-that-striving-for-wholeness-is-i_1460993.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/286/kathleen-norris-7283_consumerism_i-sense-that-striving-for-wholeness-is-i_1460993.png) > “I sense that striving for wholeness is, increasingly, a countercultural goal, as fragmented people make for better consumers.” [Kathleen Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-norris/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The pursuit of wholeness clashes with a culture that rewards fragmentation and consumerism. **In simple terms:** Whole selves are undervalued in a consumer-driven world. Key Takeaway Seek depth over superficial consumption. Themes wholeness consumerism individualism culture authenticity Mood reflective critical thoughtful Type philosophical social commentary When to use this quote - personal development - marketing - media consumption - community building Key Concepts existentialism social critique psychology Questions to Reflect On - How can we nurture wholeness without becoming a consumer? - What personal practices resist fragmentation? A Different Perspective Depth can be costly and may alienate those comfortable with surface-level interactions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Consumerism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consumerism/) [Consumers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consumers/) [Countercultural Goal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/countercultural-goal-5277547/) [Fragmented](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fragmented/) [Fragmented People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fragmented-people-620454/) [Goal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goal/) [Goals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goals/) [Increasingly Countercultural](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/increasingly-countercultural-5277549/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Strive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strive/) [Striving Wholeness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/striving-wholeness-5277550/) [Wholeness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wholeness/) [Wholeness Increasingly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wholeness-increasingly-5277548/) ## Related quotes > [In the same way, photography, for me, has fragmented. You do have people doing bodies of work - often with found photographs - that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-franklin/in-the-same-way-photography-for-me-has-fragmented-you-do-have-people/) [Stuart Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-franklin/) > [Today, the world can appear fragmented and its people disconnected, mosaics allow me to fuse the pieces together to create something cohesive and beautiful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-harris/today-the-world-can-appear-fragmented-and-its-people-disconnected/) [Laura Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-harris/) > [There is not a soul on Earth who can read the deluge of physics publications in its entirety. As a result, it is sad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-pais/there-is-not-a-soul-on-earth-who-can-read-the-deluge-of-physics/) [Abraham Pais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-pais/) > [The more you enter, the more you become locked in. Your social-networking site becomes a central platform - a closed silo of content, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-berners-lee/the-more-you-enter-the-more-you-become-locked-in-your-social/) [Tim Berners-Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-berners-lee/) > [Like so many empires before it, the Soviet Union eventually imploded and fragmented, falling victim not so much to a direct military defeat as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zbigniew-brzezinski/like-so-many-empires-before-it-the-soviet-union-eventually-imploded/) [Zbigniew Brzezinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zbigniew-brzezinski/) > [I work in lockstep, hand in glove, with the prime minister on these issues, and as we are supportive to the Eurozone so they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-clegg/i-work-in-lockstep-hand-in-glove-with-the-prime-minister-on-these/) [Nick Clegg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-clegg/) > [I feel inauthentic at a party. ... Going to a party is a 'low' activity - the authentic self is compromised, fragmented - one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/i-feel-inauthentic-at-a-party-going-to-a-party-is-a-low-activity-the/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [After giving a student the basic mating patterns and strategies you must begin giving them advanced concepts. At first these ideas will not make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-silman/after-giving-a-student-the-basic-mating-patterns-and-strategies-you/) [Jeremy Silman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-silman/) > [Like their personal lives, women's history is fragmented, interrupted; a shadow history of human beings whose existence has been shaped by the efforts and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-janeway/like-their-personal-lives-women-s-history-is-fragmented-interrupted-a/) [Elizabeth Janeway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-janeway/) > [With stillness comes the benediction of peace”. “Thinking isolates a situation or event and calls it good or bad, as if it had a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/with-stillness-comes-the-benediction-of-peace-thinking-isolates-a/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [On the surface the avant garde as a whole seems united primarily in terms of what they are against: the rejection of social institutions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-d-innes/on-the-surface-the-avant-garde-as-a-whole-seems-united-primarily-in/) [C. D. Innes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-d-innes/) > [I wish we had a more open discourse. It's just a shame that with our 24-hour news media and the Internet, people have become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-james/i-wish-we-had-a-more-open-discourse-it-s-just-a-shame-that-with-our/) [Jim James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-james/) > [If we fail to appreciate the soul that Easternism gives us, then what we have is a disconnected, Greco-Roman, Western, egocentric, compartmentalized, reductionist, fragmented,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-salatin/if-we-fail-to-appreciate-the-soul-that-easternism-gives-us-then-what/) [Joel Salatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-salatin/) > [We're in this strange age where we can't say 'I love you,' at least not sincerely. It's something where, if you simplify it, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christoffer-boe/we-re-in-this-strange-age-where-we-can-t-say-i-love-you-at-least-not/) [Christoffer Boe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christoffer-boe/) > [Popular culture as a whole is popular, but in today's fragmented market it's a jostle of competing unpopular popular cultures. As the critic Stanley…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-steyn/popular-culture-as-a-whole-is-popular-but-in-today-s-fragmented/) [Mark Steyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-steyn/) ## More by Kathleen Norris > [One may have been a fool, but there's no foolishness like being bitter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-norris/one-may-have-been-a-fool-but-there-s-no-foolishness-like-being-bitter/) [Kathleen Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-norris/) > [The ordinary activities I find most compatible with contemplation are walking, baking bread, and doing laundry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-norris/the-ordinary-activities-i-find-most-compatible-with-contemplation-are/) [Kathleen Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-norris/) > [“At its Greek root, "to believe" simply means "to give one's heart to." Thus, if we can determine what it is we give our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-norris/at-its-greek-root-to-believe-simply-means-to-give-one-s-heart-to-thus/) [Kathleen Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-norris/) > [In any free society, the conflict between social conformity and individual liberty is permanent, unresolvable, and necessary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-norris/in-any-free-society-the-conflict-between-social-conformity-and/) [Kathleen Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-norris/) > [Before you begin a thing, remind yourself that difficulties and delays quite impossible to foresee are ahead. If you could see them clearly, naturally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-norris/before-you-begin-a-thing-remind-yourself-that-difficulties-and-delays/) [Kathleen Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-norris/) > [When you are unhappy, is there anything more maddening than to be told that you should be contented with your lot?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-norris/when-you-are-unhappy-is-there-anything-more-maddening-than-to-be-told/) [Kathleen Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-norris/) > [“I was vaguely attracted to both library science and accounting, for the way that these disciplines impose order on chaos.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-norris/i-was-vaguely-attracted-to-both-library-science-and-accounting-for/) [Kathleen Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-norris/) > [Hate is all a lie, there is no truth in hate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-norris/hate-is-all-a-lie-there-is-no-truth-in-hate/) [Kathleen Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-norris/) > [“Well, they tell us meat isn't good for us anyway!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-norris/well-they-tell-us-meat-isn-t-good-for-us-anyway/) [Kathleen Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-norris/) > [None of us knows what the next change is going to be, what unexpected opportunity is just around the corner, waiting a few months…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-norris/none-of-us-knows-what-the-next-change-is-going-to-be-what-unexpected/) [Kathleen Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-norris/) > [Laundry, liturgy and women's work all serve to ground us in the world, and they need not grind us down. Our daily tasks, whether…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-norris/laundry-liturgy-and-women-s-work-all-serve-to-ground-us-in-the-world/) [Kathleen Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-norris/) > [The demon of acedia -- also called the noonday demon -- is the one that causes the most serious trouble of all. . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-norris/the-demon-of-acedia-also-called-the-noonday-demon-is-the-one-that/) [Kathleen Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-norris/) > [Only Christ could have brought us all together, in this place, doing such absurd but necessary things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-norris/only-christ-could-have-brought-us-all-together-in-this-place-doing/) [Kathleen Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-norris/) > [“In choosing a bare bones existence, we are enriched, and can redefine success as an internal process rather than an outward display of wealth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-norris/in-choosing-a-bare-bones-existence-we-are-enriched-and-can-redefine/) [Kathleen Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-norris/) > [“Poetry was a discipline grounded in experience that drew its life and worth from a source much greater than oneself, and as it realized…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-norris/poetry-was-a-discipline-grounded-in-experience-that-drew-its-life-and/) [Kathleen Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-norris/) [Explore all 93 Kathleen Norris quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-norris/) ## More Consumerism quotes > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [if we center our lives on BMWs, RVs, VCRs, PCs and the other acronyms of consumerism, we cannot expect our children to do otherwise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnnetta-b-cole/if-we-center-our-lives-on-bmws-rvs-vcrs-pcs-and-the-other-acronyms-of/) [Johnnetta B. Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnnetta-b-cole/) > [“Salesmanship is usually the art of making it the prospect’s problem, the salesperson’s need or desire to earn money.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/salesmanship-is-usually-the-art-of-making-it-the-prospect-s-problem/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [A lot of times, my work is looked at very much on the surface. It's very easy to just want to put something in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-koons/a-lot-of-times-my-work-is-looked-at-very-much-on-the-surface-it-s/) [Jeff Koons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-koons/) > [I think that consumerism is intrinsically a pretty flawed social system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-elkington/i-think-that-consumerism-is-intrinsically-a-pretty-flawed-social/) [John Elkington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-elkington/) > [America always put forth this phony melting pot theory, but it's a reality now. They couldn't accomplish the melting pot economically; they couldn't accomplish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-means/america-always-put-forth-this-phony-melting-pot-theory-but-it-s-a/) [Russell Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-means/) > [“Fifty years ago, people went without clothes in order to eat. Today, people gladly go without food in order to buy clothes. And they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-dumontais/fifty-years-ago-people-went-without-clothes-in-order-to-eat-today/) [Sinclair Dumontais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-dumontais/) > [Consumer wants can have bizarre, frivolous, or even immoral origins, and an admirable case can still be made for a society that seeks to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/consumer-wants-can-have-bizarre-frivolous-or-even-immoral-origins-and/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [“In my view, dissatisfaction is implicit in the fabric of consumerism.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-bruno/in-my-view-dissatisfaction-is-implicit-in-the-fabric-of-consumerism/) [Dave Bruno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-bruno/) > [Just when you thought multi-nationals and crazed consumerism were too big to fight, along comes Naomi Klein with facts, spirit, and news of successful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/just-when-you-thought-multi-nationals-and-crazed-consumerism-were-too/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [“Logograms pose a more difficult question. An increasing number of persons and institutions, from archy and mehitabel to PostScript and TrueType, come to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bringhurst/logograms-pose-a-more-difficult-question-an-increasing-number-of/) [Robert Bringhurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bringhurst/) > [One of the problems with industrialism is that it's based on the premise of more and more. It has to keep expanding to keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dora-russell/one-of-the-problems-with-industrialism-is-that-it-s-based-on-the/) [Dora Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dora-russell/) > [Never buy what you do not want, because it is cheap; it will be dear to you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/never-buy-what-you-do-not-want-because-it-is-cheap-it-will-be-dear-to/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [The pharma pricing system was not built on the idea of consumer engagement. It was built... on market efficiencies. It was not built on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-bresch/the-pharma-pricing-system-was-not-built-on-the-idea-of-consumer/) [Heather Bresch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-bresch/) > [“We consumer and become exactly what we create. In all times.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/we-consumer-and-become-exactly-what-we-create-in-all-times/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) [Browse all 628 Consumerism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consumerism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I sense that striving for wholeness is, increasingly, a countercultural goal, as fragmented people make for better consumers.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kathleen Norris" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-norris/i-sense-that-striving-for-wholeness-is-increasingly-a-countercultural/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Consumerism" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-norris/i-sense-that-striving-for-wholeness-is-increasingly-a-countercultural/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/286/kathleen-norris-7283_consumerism_i-sense-that-striving-for-wholeness-is-i_1460993.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/286/kathleen-norris-7283_consumerism_i-sense-that-striving-for-wholeness-is-i_1460993.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/286/kathleen-norris-7283_consumerism_i-sense-that-striving-for-wholeness-is-i_1460993.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I sense that striving for wholeness is, increasingly, a countercultural goal, as fragmented people make for…” — Kathleen Norris", "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": "Kathleen Norris", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-norris/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I sense that striving for wholeness...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-norris/i-sense-that-striving-for-wholeness-is-increasingly-a-countercultural/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-norris/i-sense-that-striving-for-wholeness-is-increasingly-a-countercultural/#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 } } ] } ```