The “basic dilemma concerning man’s existence beyond the requirements of biological and material survival [is] the vital question of how to live out that stretch of life that is neither sleep nor work.”—Leo Lowenthal
“Diversion, however frantic, can overwhelm temporarily but not ultimately relieve the boredom which oozes from nonfulillment…. Diversion at most, through weariness and fatigue, can numb and distract anxiety.” —Ernest Van den Haag
“All the unhappiness of men arises from one single fact, that they cannot stay quietly in their own chamber…. They have a secret instinct which impels them to seek amusement and occupation abroad, and which arises from the sense of their constant unhappiness.”—Pascal
“The question remains whether popular culture can serve as an able medium of meaning, or whether it is instead a distraction from confronting meaning, as well as meaninglessness.”—Ken Myers
“If we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”—C.S. Lewis
