Hermann Hesse’s Philosophy for Living a Good Life
Lessons about success, destiny, and being a good human being.
“You never reach port. But when two friendly routes coincide, the whole world seems to us, for an hour, the longed-for port.”
— Hermann Hesse.
The world can be a terrible place. A dark room full of misery and decay, where one tries not to be seen —no one likes to have their scars seen. We just want to go unnoticed. But in doing so, we drown.
We are not islands. We are castaways trying to stay afloat. And we barely make it. But that’s the important thing: we make it.
We swallow water, but we keep swimming.
And sometimes… we cross paths with another shipwrecked person.
One who is fighting a battle similar to ours. And who also can’t find a destination to reach.
And just then, the sky opens up, and the sea loosens the ferocity of its waves. It is at that very moment of encounter that the world is transformed.
It ceases to be a terrible place. The darkroom is filled with the light of midday. And we proudly show off the scars.
Because that being who crossed our destiny also knows about shipwrecks and swallowing salt water.
Herman Hesse is right. At that moment, everything around us becomes a safe harbor where we can rest for a while and enjoy the company.
I believe, therefore, that every writer is a bit of a philosopher. And that is why after reading Demian, I wanted to select his best 11 phrases and offer them to you in this article, accompanied by my interpretations. I hope they help you see the world differently and push you to move forward.
Let’s start.
I. Only the ideas we live have value
Talking is good. Thinking is fine. But to experience, we must act. Without the act, the result does not materialize. That is why it’s called action-reaction.
Ideas that remain ideas only take time.
Dare to think, then discard the ideas you do not like, but those that make your skin crawl put them into action.
II. Each one of us has to find for himself what is “permitted” and what is “forbidden”
Everyone is responsible for his actions. And those actions make him feel differently.
Not all people are the same, and there will be things that I like and that you don’t like. There will even be things that are morally reprehensible to me but not to you.
You have to learn to listen to your body, which is wise and let yourself be guided more by your sensations, not only by reason.
If something makes you feel bad about yourself, stop doing it. You should not continue with it just because it is socially stipulated.
Working in a 9 to 5 job is suffocating for me. I’d prefer to work twice as hard and get paid half as much, but writing.
I know many people point the finger at me for not having a stable economy at my age. But I must be the one who is happy with my life and not my neighbor.
III. Witty words have no value. Absolutely none. They do nothing but turn us away from ourselves
And to turn away from oneself is a sin. It is necessary to know how to shut oneself up completely like a tortoise.
The word can seduce us. We see it constantly with advertising. Everything that dazzles us usually wants something from us.
It is crucial to know how to withdraw into oneself. So as not to lose the healthy habit of listening to what our heart truly wants, or we will end up pursuing the dreams of others instead of our own.
IV. ”Destiny” and “spirit” name the same concept.
I have thought long and hard about this phrase. I believe that what Herman wants to share with us is that the spirit has a goal. And by doing those things that bring us closer to that vital objective, we feel fulfilled.
For destiny and spirit are synonymous with the same thing.
Destiny reveals itself to us through the inner voice (spirit), and only when we dare to listen to it, we feel fulfilled.
V. It is always good to be aware that inside us, there is someone who knows everything, wants everything, and does everything better than we do ourselves
Here the author speaks to us of universal intelligence.
We are part of a whole, which knows what is done better than we think.
It is that universal intelligence that makes your heartbeat or oxygen feed your cells.
You don’t have to think about those processes, comes naturally to you. So there is a kind of higher intelligence that organizes everything intelligently and efficiently.
VI. When someone, who really needs something, finds it, it is not chance that procures it for him, but he. His own desire and his own need lead him to it
Here Herman seems to discover the concept of the law of attraction. We attract what we are. And therefore, everything that comes into our life identifies us with our true essence so that everything matches.
It is a need that the universe, through its infinite intelligence, ends up satisfying.
A self-fulfilling prophecy.
Therefore, according to the author, there is no such thing as chance. But the self-realization of destiny. One that happens through the acceptance of the true spiritual nature that each one of us has.
VII. When we hate a person, we hate in his image something that we carry in ourselves. What is not also in ourselves leaves us indifferent
Hermann is ahead of his time, and here he seems to enunciate the law of the mirror,
The law of the mirror states,
“The outer world acts as a mirror, reflecting both our light and our shadow, being a portrait of our inner world.”
Therefore, when we are irritated by something about someone, what happens is that we are projecting a part of ourselves that we do not like (but that is within us) onto the other person. The same happens when the person has some virtue that pleases us: it’s also in us.
Only that which leaves us indifferent does not dwell within us.
As Hermann Hesse well says in his book,
The only reality is the one we have in us. And if people live so unrealistically, it is because they accept as reality the external images and drown in themselves the voice of their inner world. One can also be happy in this way. But when one comes to know the other way, it becomes impossible to follow the path of the majority.
VIII. If you cannot find yourself, you will not find any spirits to guide you
It is like saying that the teacher appears when the pupil is ready. I think he is right. Only when we let go and follow the signs does the magic begin to happen.
Imagine that you want to go to New York, but you don’t pay attention to any traffic sign, nor the GPS. You don’t even carry a paper map.
Do you think you will get to New York? Obviously not.
Well, this is the same. First, you have to follow your instinct, and in this way, signals will appear, that if you dare to follow, will generate a butterfly effect that will take you to people, places, and situations that will teach you everything you need.
IX. When you come to ask, carrying in yourself the certainty of achieving your desire, the demand and the satisfaction will coincide in a single instant
We do not have to pursue desires half-heartedly. Either something is desired, or it is not desired.
If we decide to achieve something, we must go the whole way. Go for it with absolute conviction of achievement. Only in this way can goals that seem impossible or unlikely be achieved.
X. Nothing new arises without death
This is an absolute truth. To change your life, you will have to kill the one you were. Or else, no matter how far you run, you will always be standing in the same place.
I used to change places for a change of scenery. And I ended up repeating the same problems, embodied in different people and places. But the mistakes were the same. Until I realized that I was the one who had to change.
But to do so, I had to die and be reborn. When you change, people get upset because they want you to remain the way you are, the way they want you to be. And when you change, you usually lose those kinds of people.
Change is like autumn: you need the leaves to fall off your tree to bloom in spring.
XI. I live in my dreams. Other people also live in dreams. But not on their own
Hermann encourages us to pursue our destiny regardless of the consequences. We only live once anyway. And no one can live our life.
It is crucial not to waste your life aspiring to be a person you are not. Because if you do, even if you achieve success, you will end up living a life that is not yours.
And consequently, you will not achieve fulfillment, nor will you be happy.
If you have read to the end of the article, I want to thank you for your support. I hope this article has helped you. If so, let me know in the comments. I really appreciate it.
Thanks for reading. Alberto García (Malafama1981).
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