--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Paradoxically (since people say: Work…" description: "\"“Paradoxically (since people say: Work, amuse yourself, see friends) it’s when we’re busy, distracted, sought out, exteriorized, that we suffer most. I..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dad/roland-barthes-1062_grief-and-loss_paradoxically-since-people-say-work-amus_2787735.png" --- # Paradoxically (since people say: Work, amuse yourself, see… ![“Paradoxically (since people say: Work, amuse yourself, see friends) it’s when we’re busy, distracted, sought out, exteriorized, that we suffer most. Inwardness, calm, solitude makes us less miserable.” quote by Roland Barthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dad/roland-barthes-1062_grief-and-loss_paradoxically-since-people-say-work-amus_2787735.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dad/roland-barthes-1062_grief-and-loss_paradoxically-since-people-say-work-amus_2787735.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dad/roland-barthes-1062_grief-and-loss_paradoxically-since-people-say-work-amus_2787735.png) > ““Paradoxically (since people say: Work, amuse yourself, see friends) it’s when we’re busy, distracted, sought out, exteriorized, that we suffer most. Inwardness, calm, solitude makes us less miserable.”” [Roland Barthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-barthes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Busy, external distractions increase suffering; solitude and inwardness bring calm. **In simple terms:** Solitude reduces misery. Key Takeaway Seek quiet time regularly. Themes solitude inner peace modern life Mood contemplative philosophical Type advice inspirational When to use this quote - work breaks - meditation retreats - digital detox Key Concepts distraction mental health Questions to Reflect On - How can we balance social life and solitude? - What practices foster inner calm? A Different Perspective Solitude may lead to isolation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Grief and loss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief-and-loss/) [Inwardness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inwardness-520618/) [Inwardness Calm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inwardness-calm-3356106/) [Loss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loss/) [Mourning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mourning/) [Paradoxically People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paradoxically-people-1029416/) [Solitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solitude/) [Suffer Inwardness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffer-inwardness-3356103/) ## Related quotes > [Paradoxically, the people and state of Japan living on such moral props were not innocent but had been stained by their own past history…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenzaburo-oe/paradoxically-the-people-and-state-of-japan-living-on-such-moral/) [Kenzaburo Oe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenzaburo-oe/) > [“It is said that Time soothes mourning – No, Time makes nothing happen; it merely makes the emotivity of mourning pass.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-barthes/it-is-said-that-time-soothes-mourning-no-time-makes-nothing-happen-it/) [Roland Barthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-barthes/) > [“To speak of ‘trying again’ while her ghost was still in the room was an insult to both the child gone before and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-spargo-ryan/to-speak-of-trying-again-while-her-ghost-was-still-in-the-room-was-an/) [Anna Spargo-Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-spargo-ryan/) > [Sorrow makes us all children again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/sorrow-makes-us-all-children-again/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“The mourning process can feel like going through a carwash without a car.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-livon/the-mourning-process-can-feel-like-going-through-a-carwash-without-a/) [Jodi Livon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-livon/) > [“ Would've, should've, could've. 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But sometimes, once my bad temper…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-barthes/so-long-as-i-perceive-the-world-as-hostile-i-remain-linked-to-it-i-am/) [Roland Barthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-barthes/) > [I think that cars today are almost the exact equivalent of the great Gothic cathedrals: I mean the supreme creation of an era, conceived…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-barthes/i-think-that-cars-today-are-almost-the-exact-equivalent-of-the-great/) [Roland Barthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-barthes/) > [“(Sartre) (The world is full without me, as in Nausea; the world plays at living behind a glass partition; the world is in an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-barthes/sartre-the-world-is-full-without-me-as-in-nausea-the-world-plays-at/) [Roland Barthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-barthes/) > [“Like love, mourning affects the world—and the worldly—with unreality, with importunity. 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Knowing he was out there somewhere thinking about me at the same time I was thinking about him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ranata-suzuki/i-miss-that-feeling-of-connection-knowing-he-was-out-there-somewhere/) [Ranata Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ranata-suzuki/) > [“Whenever something scary happens or I want to comment on something, like Joyce and Hopper’s constant bickering, which is getting annoying, I glance toward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-latos/whenever-something-scary-happens-or-i-want-to-comment-on-something/) [Alexandra Latos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-latos/) > [“Grief is a ghost that shows up uninvited.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brittany-burgunder/grief-is-a-ghost-that-shows-up-uninvited/) [Brittany Burgunder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brittany-burgunder/) > [“The opposite of grief is not laughter or happiness or joy. It is love. It is love. 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