A musician must make music, an artist must paint, a poet must write, if he is to be ultimately at peace with himself. What a man can be, he must be.
Self-actualizing people are, without one single exception, involved in a cause outside their own skin, in something outside of themselves. They are devoted, working at something, something which is very precious to them - some calling or vocation in the old sense, the priestly sense. Self-actualized people have a wonderful capacity to appreciate again and again, freshly and naively, the basic goods of life with awe, pleasure, wonder, and even ecstasy, however stale these experiences may be for other people. It is easily possible for self-actualizing people to fall deeply in love with homely partners. ... The more mature they become, the less attracted they are by such characteristics as handsome, good looking, good dancer ... and the more they speak of compatibility, goodness, decency, good companionship, considerateness. Self-actualizing people enjoy life in general and in practically all its aspects, while most other people enjoy only stray moments of triumph, of achievement or of climax or peak experience.

Abraham Maslow
(posted by Farid)

Posted:Sunday, December 05, 2004 |