Ah, as grandes questões de uma vida

«By choosing to live above the ordinary level we create extraordinary problems for ourselves. The ultimate goal is to make this earth a paradise.
(…)
For me it is no problem to depend on others. I am always curious to see how far people will go, how big a test one can put them to.
(...) It’s only when we demand that we are hurt. I, who have been helped so much by others, I ought to know something of the duties of the receiver. It’s so much easier to be on the giving side. To receive is much harder — one actually has to be more delicate, if I may say so.»

[A Literate Passion: Letters of Anaïs Nin and Henry Miller, 1932-1953]