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Bloody mary Quote by Mark Helprin

“I work with a great deal of discipline, although I usually take on more than I can handle and often have to extend due dates. I have always been appalled by bohemianism because of its laziness, disorder, and moral weakness. I understand that this way of living is a response to the fact of human…” quote by Mark Helprin
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““I work with a great deal of discipline, although I usually take on more than I can handle and often have to extend due dates. I have always been appalled by bohemianism because of its laziness, disorder, and moral weakness. I understand that this way of living is a response to the fact of human frailty, but it leans too far in one direction. Being a little more buttoned up doesn’t mean that you’ll get so brittle that you’ll break. Nor does it mean that you don’t understand tragedy, loss, and, most of all, human limitation. I am more than well aware of those things and I feel very strongly, but on the other hand I like to run ten miles and return to a spotless well-ordered room, and I like my shirts heavily starched. When I used to go on a long run on Sunday morning when I lived on the Upper West Side, I would pass thousands and thousands of people in restaurants eating . . . (I won’t say this word, because I hate it so much, but it rhymes with hunch, and it’s a disgusting meal that is supposed to be both breakfast and lunch). There they were—having slept for five hours while I was doing calisthenics and running—unshaven (the women too), bleary eyed, surrounded by newspapers scattered as if in a hamster cage, smoking noxious French cigarettes, and drinking Bloody Marys while they ate huge quantities of fat. They looked to me like a movie version of South American bandits. I would never want to be like that. I prefer to live like a British soldier.””

Mark Helprin

About This Quote

Discipline and order are valuable, but excessive rigidity can ignore human frailty and joy.

In simple terms: Balance discipline with flexibility.

Key Takeaway

Find a healthy middle ground.

Themes

discipline order balance human frailty

Mood

reflective critical

Type

philosophical self‑analysis

When to use this quote

  • managing workload
  • maintaining personal standards
  • allowing leisure
  • avoiding burnout

Key Concepts

self‑control work ethic well‑being

Questions to Reflect On

  • Do you over‑schedule yourself?
  • How can you incorporate spontaneity?
A Different Perspective

Too much order may stifle creativity and empathy.

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