#ambivalence

I've always been fascinated by the operation of memory - the way in which it is not linear but fragmented, and its ambivalence. ↗

— Penelope Lively

#ambivalence #been #fascinated #fragmented #i

It seems we are capable of immense love and loyalty, and as capable of deceit and atrocity. It's probably this shocking ambivalence that makes us unique. ↗

— John Scott

#atrocity #capable #deceit #immense #love

Most of us would like to see our enemies defeated and punished, and it is an ironic (and gruesome) human truth that many of us unconsciously entertain the same feeling about our friends and the members of our family. For there is a curious ambivalence about the human soul: it can love and hate the same object at the same time with almost equal force. Society suspects this. It half realizes that civilization is perpetually menaced because of this primary hostility of men toward one another. Therefore, culture has to summon every possible reinforcement against these aggressive hatreds. Hence the ideal command to love one’s neighbor as oneself. This commandment is the strongest defense against human hatred, and even though it is impossible to fulfill it completely, men cling to it. For they unconsciously realize that if this commandment were to be swept away, the world would be a place of chaos and desolation. ↗

— Joshua Loth Liebman

#love-of-neighbor #change

Ambivalence is a wonderful tune to dance to. It has a rhythm all its own. ↗

— Erica Jong

#dance #own #rhythm #tune #wonderful

As many have discovered, it is entirely possible (although not particularly desirable) to love two people with all your heart. It is entirely possible to long for two lives, to feel that one life can't come close to containing it all. ↗

— Gabrielle Zevin

#love-triangle #mixed-emotions #life

I've always had a lot of ambivalence about fame and celebrity. ↗

— Jane Pauley

#always #ambivalence #celebrity #fame #had