Its very hard to know what wisdom is. – James Hillman
You dont attack the grunts of Vietnam you blame the theory behind the war. Nobody who fought in that war was at fault. It was the war itself that was at fault. Its the same thing with psychotherapy. – James Hillman
Were an air bag society that wants guarantees on everything that we buy. We want to be able to take everything back and get another one. We want a 401-k plan and Social Security. – James Hillman
Psychotherapy theory turns it all on you: you are the one who is wrong. If a kid is having trouble or is discouraged, the problem is not just inside the kid its also in the system, the society. – James Hillman
I see happiness as a by-product. I dont think you can pursue happiness. I think that phrase is one of the very few mistakes the Founding Fathers made. – James Hillman
Just stop for a minute and youll realize youre happy just being. I think its the pursuit that screws up happiness. If we drop the pursuit, its right here. – James Hillman
The older people that one admires seem to be fearless. They go right out into the world. Its astounding. Maybe they cant see or they cant hear, but they walk out into the street and take life as it comes. Theyre models of courage, in a strange way. – James Hillman
I dont think anything changes until ideas change. The usual American viewpoint is to believe that something is wrong with the person. – James Hillman
We cant change anything until we get some fresh ideas, until we begin to see things differently. – James Hillman
Loss means losing what was We want to change but we dont want to lose. Without time for loss, we dont have time for soul. – James Hillman
We approach people the same way we approach our cars. We take the poor kid to a doctor and ask, Whats wrong with him, how much will it cost, and when can I pick him up? – James Hillman
The word power has such a generally negative implication in our society. What are people talking about? Are they talking about muscles, or control? – James Hillman
In the history of the treatment of depression, there was the dunking stool, purging of the bowels of black bile, hoses, attempts to shock the patient. All of these represent hatred or aggression towards what depression represents in the patient. – James Hillman
Fear is a huge thing for older people. – James Hillman
The culture is going into a psychological depression. We are concerned about our place in the world, about being competitive: Will my children have as much as I have? Will I ever own my own home? How can I pay for a new car? Are immigrants taking away my white world? – James Hillman
Depression opens the door to beauty of some kind. – James Hillman
All we can do when we think of kids today is think of more hours of school, earlier age at the computer, and curfews. Who would want to grow up in that world? – James Hillman
