--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The price of being oneself is so high and…" description: "\"The price of being oneself is so high and involves so much ruthlessness toward others (or what looks like ruthlessness in our duty-bound culture) that ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b4/may-sarton-897_bounds_the-price-of-being-oneself-is-so-high-an_2567304.jpg" --- # The price of being oneself is so high and involves so much… ![“The price of being oneself is so high and involves so much ruthlessness toward others (or what looks like ruthlessness in our duty-bound culture) that very few people can afford it.” quote by May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b4/may-sarton-897_bounds_the-price-of-being-oneself-is-so-high-an_2567304.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b4/may-sarton-897_bounds_the-price-of-being-oneself-is-so-high-an_2567304.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b4/may-sarton-897_bounds_the-price-of-being-oneself-is-so-high-an_2567304.jpg) > “The price of being oneself is so high and involves so much ruthlessness toward others (or what looks like ruthlessness in our duty-bound culture) that very few people can afford it.” [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Living authentically demands personal sacrifice and can appear harsh to others, making it difficult for many to maintain. **In simple terms:** Being true to yourself can be costly and seem cruel. Key Takeaway Embrace honesty while balancing compassion. Themes authenticity self‑sacrifice social pressure Mood reflective serious Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - leadership - personal relationships - creative work - mental health Key Concepts existentialism ethical dilemma Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance authenticity with empathy? - What costs are you willing to bear for truth? A Different Perspective Not everyone can sustain such radical honesty without alienation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bounds/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Duty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/duty/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Ruthlessness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ruthlessness/) ## Related quotes > [One of the most terrible things about the English education System in Ireland is its ruthlessness...it is cold and mechanical, like the ruthlessness of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-pearse/one-of-the-most-terrible-things-about-the-english-education-system-in/) [Patrick Pearse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-pearse/) > [People who can't afford their mortgages and have to renegotiate with the bank or something gets repossessed after you worked your whole life. 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But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-carter/well-as-you-know-there-are-many-things-in-life-that-are-not-fair-that/) [Jimmy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carter/) > [I'm from the housing projects, where people can't afford $150 shoes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephon-marbury/i-m-from-the-housing-projects-where-people-can-t-afford-150-shoes/) [Stephon Marbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephon-marbury/) > [I definitely think the price of food is going up. We need to figure out ways to manage that in a sustainable way. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raj-patel/i-definitely-think-the-price-of-food-is-going-up-we-need-to-figure/) [Raj Patel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raj-patel/) > [“Rich people can´t afford to waste time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alin-sav/rich-people-can-t-afford-to-waste-time/) [Alin Sav](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alin-sav/) > [I definitely want to help the youth, people who can't afford medicine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/redman/i-definitely-want-to-help-the-youth-people-who-can-t-afford-medicine/) [Redman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/redman/) > [There must be a reason why some people can afford to live well. They must have worked for it. I only feel angry when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/there-must-be-a-reason-why-some-people-can-afford-to-live-well-they/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [I think poor folks are the only people who cannot afford - financially and otherwise - to be sick.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/black-thought/i-think-poor-folks-are-the-only-people-who-cannot-afford-financially/) [Black Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/black-thought/) ## More by May Sarton > [“I felt pain like an assault, The old pain again When the world thrusts itself inside, When we have to take in the outside,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/i-felt-pain-like-an-assault-the-old-pain-again-when-the-world-thrusts/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [Most people have to talk so they won't hear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/most-people-have-to-talk-so-they-won-t-hear/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [People who cannot feel punish those who do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/people-who-cannot-feel-punish-those-who-do/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [This suspension of one's own reality, this being entirely alone in a strange city (at times I wondered if I had lost the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/this-suspension-of-one-s-own-reality-this-being-entirely-alone-in-a/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [One must think like a hero to behave like a merely decent human being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/one-must-think-like-a-hero-to-behave-like-a-merely-decent-human-being/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [Real joy is becoming exceedingly rare among artists of any kind. And I have an idea that those who can and do communicate it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/real-joy-is-becoming-exceedingly-rare-among-artists-of-any-kind-and-i/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [For to be desperate is to discover strength. / We die of comfort and by conflict live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/for-to-be-desperate-is-to-discover-strength-we-die-of-comfort-and-by/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [“I see you with that shell Held to your sensitive abstracted ear, Hunting the ocean’s rumor till you hear it well, Until you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/i-see-you-with-that-shell-held-to-your-sensitive-abstracted-ear/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [There is a wilder solitude in winter When every sense is pricked alive and keen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/there-is-a-wilder-solitude-in-winter-when-every-sense-is-pricked/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [I long for the bulbs to arrive, for the early autumn chores are melancholy, but the planting of bulbs is the work of hope…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/i-long-for-the-bulbs-to-arrive-for-the-early-autumn-chores-are/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [Why is it that people who cannot show feeling presume that that is a strength and not a weakness?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/why-is-it-that-people-who-cannot-show-feeling-presume-that-that-is-a/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [Innocence is not pure so much as pleased, Always expectant, bright-eyed, self-enclosed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/innocence-is-not-pure-so-much-as-pleased-always-expectant-bright-eyed/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [I have written every poem, every novel, for the same purpose-to find out what I think, to know where I stand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/i-have-written-every-poem-every-novel-for-the-same-purpose-to-find/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [For art is order, but it is born out of the chaos of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/for-art-is-order-but-it-is-born-out-of-the-chaos-of-life/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [all great people are humble because great people have great work and are humbled by the largeness of their dreams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/all-great-people-are-humble-because-great-people-have-great-work-and/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) [Explore all 336 May Sarton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) ## More Bounds quotes > [Man will not always stay on Earth; the pursuit of light and space will lead him to penetrate the bounds of the atmosphere, timidly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konstantin-tsiolkovsky/man-will-not-always-stay-on-earth-the-pursuit-of-light-and-space-will/) [Konstantin Tsiolkovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konstantin-tsiolkovsky/) > [Importunity is a condition of prayer. 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Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/) > ['Facts' are the bounds of human knowledge, set for it, not by it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/facts-are-the-bounds-of-human-knowledge-set-for-it-not-by-it/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [An order given in battle, an instruction issued by the master of a sailing ship, a cry for help, are as powerful in modifying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bronislaw-malinowski/an-order-given-in-battle-an-instruction-issued-by-the-master-of-a/) [Bronislaw Malinowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bronislaw-malinowski/) > [It is only when our life proceeds within bounds and in an accepted, disciplined way, that the mind can be free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vinoba-bhave/it-is-only-when-our-life-proceeds-within-bounds-and-in-an-accepted/) [Vinoba Bhave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vinoba-bhave/) > [Yes, thou art ever present, power divine; not circumscribed by time, nor fixed by space, confined to altars, nor to temples bound. 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