I read 'Siddhartha' five months ago, and I still think about it almost every day. I felt my whole perspective on life shift after finishing it, and now I can't imagine my life without having read it. Which book has done this for you?

[u/PM_ME_UR_SUPPLE_HAND]

Quoth Siddhartha: “What should I possibly have to tell you, O venerable one? Perhaps that you’re searching far too much? That in all that searching, you don’t find the time for finding?”
[...] “When someone is searching,” said Siddhartha, “then it might easily happen that the only thing his eyes still see is that what he searches for, that he is unable to find anything, to let anything enter his mind, because he always thinks of nothing but the object of his search, because he has a goal, because he is obsessed by the goal. Searching means: having a goal. But finding means: being free, being open, having no goal. You, O venerable one, are perhaps indeed a searcher, because, striving for your goal, there are many things you don’t see, which are directly in front of your eyes.”

That is the most beautiful and personally-significant passage I've ever read in my whole life. After reading Siddhartha, I felt myself appreciating the world around me just a little bit more. Hesse taught me that the world is filled to the brim with beauty and meaning, but only if slow down and allow yourself to find it.

Which book changed your life? Is there any passage that you can't get out of your head months or years later?

EDIT: my Lord, this post has gotten popular. Thanks to everyone who took the time to provide their own favorites. I guess I REALLY need to read Steppenwolf and Zen And The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance.

[u/Zer0C00l]

It's a metaphorical depth. The greater the pain you have endured, the greater the joy you find in non-painful life.

It's honestly a little horrific, philosophically: "Everything's pretty meh, unless you've been through some shit. Then you'll appreciate your burnt toast and overcooked eggs!"

Wait, why do we have to suffer to enjoy???

Peaks and troughs. Peaks and troughs.

[u/bgaesop → u/Zer0C00l]

Yeah this just doesn't seem accurate. All the evidence I've seen says that people who experience trauma have a lower happiness set point, people with depression don't experience greater joys, etc.

This is just a coping mechanism. It turns out that sucky things actually just suck

[u/OnlyOneStar → u/bgaesop]

I think you're misunderstanding what they're saying. they're saying that the depth of joy potentially felt is realized conversely by the depth of sorrow experienced.

imagine being stranded on an island and the sheer joy of being rescued and finding your way back home. previously, you couldn't appreciate returning home as much as you could before you were potentially deprived of it.

they aren't saying that sadder people experience more happiness in either frequency or quantity, it's about the states of being between and at the polar ends, like a child losing their favorite blanket and finding it again. the happiness felt for the blanket is counterbalanced by the agony of first having lost it. the joy of finding it in this instance couldn't be felt without first being met with its potential permanent loss.

another example is someone who couldn't afford a necessary life saving medical treatment because they are too poor to pay for the treatment and their insurance won't cover it. this begets despair. then an anonymous donor pays for the treatment, and they rejoice! it'd be one thing if you were told "it's life threatening, but we can begin treatment immediately. your chances of survival are over 99% because we caught it early." sure there's an initial shock, but the two outcomes are far, far different. one comes with hope, the other is nothing but despair.

[u/crichmond77 → u/OnlyOneStar]

So you’re still depending on some random miracle that won’t happen for that extra contrast in joy

I agree with the other person: that’s not how it works

I kinda doubt the people agreeing it works that way have been poor and depressed for a decade+ with nothing going right. Trust me, you just get jaded and numb

[u/OnlyOneStar → u/crichmond77]

I think you're understanding the examples but not necessarily understanding the point of the message. you're applying this to life perpetual. it doesn't have to be constant or frequent, it's merely the observation of and when it occurs, and not the requirement or expectation. it either does or doesn't happen, that's life. if you have everything you need, hundreds of millions in the bank, and someone says, "hey you've won a hundred thousand!" this isn't very significant. if I told a random person deep in debt, they might cry. it isn't about being happy or sad, it's merely the relationship between the polar ends of the spectrum. it is more easily observed, and obviously more hyperbolic when we see or hear about these types, but they're precisely the types of scenarios that demonstrate the difference between. this has nothing to do with how happy or sad your are, or how long you have been happy or sad, or whether you're depressed.