--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is always the easy way out…" description: "\"“There is always the easy way out, although I am loath to use it. I have no children, I do not watch television and I do not believe in God- all paths ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e2/muriel-barbery-1092_believe-in-god_there-is-always-the-easy-way-out-althoug_1354482.jpg" --- # There is always the easy way out, although I am loath to… ![“There is always the easy way out, although I am loath to use it. I have no children, I do not watch television and I do not believe in God- all paths taken by mortals to make their lives easier. Children help us to defer the painful task of confronting ourselves, and grandchildren take over from…” quote by Muriel Barbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e2/muriel-barbery-1092_believe-in-god_there-is-always-the-easy-way-out-althoug_1354482.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e2/muriel-barbery-1092_believe-in-god_there-is-always-the-easy-way-out-althoug_1354482.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e2/muriel-barbery-1092_believe-in-god_there-is-always-the-easy-way-out-althoug_1354482.jpg) > ““There is always the easy way out, although I am loath to use it. I have no children, I do not watch television and I do not believe in God- all paths taken by mortals to make their lives easier. Children help us to defer the painful task of confronting ourselves, and grandchildren take over from them. Television distracts us from the onerous necessity of finding projects to construct in the vacuity of our frivolous lives; by beguiling our eyes, television releases our mind from the great work of making meaning. Finally, God appeases our animal fears and the unbearable prospect that someday all our pleasures will cease. Thus, as I have neither future nor progeny nor pixels to deaden the cosmic awareness of absurdity, and in the certainty of the end and the anticipation of the void, I believe I can affirm that I have not chosen the easy path.”” [Muriel Barbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-barbery/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Choosing hardship over comfort reflects a desire for meaning, despite societal pressures toward ease. **In simple terms:** Choosing difficulty seeks meaning. Key Takeaway Embrace challenges for growth. Themes philosophy existentialism meaning comfort choice Mood contemplative hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - career decisions - personal development - creative projects - spiritual practice Key Concepts absurdism self‑realization mortality Questions to Reflect On - What fears keep you from the easy path? - How can you find purpose in struggle? A Different Perspective Easy paths can be tempting and socially reinforced. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Believe in god](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe-in-god/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Easy way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/easy-way/) ## Related quotes > [“God appeases our animal fears and the unbearable prospect that someday all our pleasures will cease.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-barbery/god-appeases-our-animal-fears-and-the-unbearable-prospect-that/) [Muriel Barbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-barbery/) > [I fly because it releases my mind from the tyranny of petty things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/i-fly-because-it-releases-my-mind-from-the-tyranny-of-petty-things/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [Scientists do not believe in fundamental and absolute certainties. For the scientist, certainty is never an end, but a search; not the ordering of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-montagu/scientists-do-not-believe-in-fundamental-and-absolute-certainties-for/) [Ashley Montagu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-montagu/) > [The soul that loves God has its rest in God and in God alone. In all the paths that men walk in in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-of-nineveh/the-soul-that-loves-god-has-its-rest-in-god-and-in-god-alone-in-all/) [Isaac of Nineveh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-of-nineveh/) > [If our ways were supposed to be separated and our destinations were different, then why God made our paths to cross each other??](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abisha/if-our-ways-were-supposed-to-be-separated-and-our-destinations-were/) Abisha > [If a man reaches the heart of his own religion, he has reached the heart of the others, too. There is only one God,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/if-a-man-reaches-the-heart-of-his-own-religion-he-has-reached-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [God is one the paths to reach him (religions) are many - just as different rivers, originating in different mountains, traverse different paths, flowing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/god-is-one-the-paths-to-reach-him-religions-are-many-just-as/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [Do not exalt any path above god. There are many paths that lead to god. So people are capable of finding and following the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zalman-schachter-shalomi/do-not-exalt-any-path-above-god-there-are-many-paths-that-lead-to-god/) [Zalman Schachter-Shalomi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zalman-schachter-shalomi/) > [Poetry connects us to what is deepest in ourselves. 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Television distracts us from the onerous necessity of finding projects to construct in the vacuity of our frivolous lives; by beguiling our eyes, television releases our mind from the great work of making meaning. Finally, God appeases our animal fears and the unbearable prospect that someday all our pleasures will cease. 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