A chronic lack of pleasure, of any enjoyable, rewarding or stimulating experiences, produces a slow, gradual, day-by-day erosion of man's emotional vitality, which he may ignore or repress, but which is recorded by the relentless computer of his subconscious mechanism that registers an ebbing flow, then a trickle, then a few last drops of fuel--until the day when his inner motor stops and he wonders desperately why he has no desire to go on, unable to find any definable cause of his hopeless, chronic sense of exhaustion.

Summary

This quote highlights the detrimental impact of a sustained absence of joy or fulfilling experiences on an individual's emotional well-being. It suggests that when someone consistently lacks pleasurable or stimulating moments in their life, it gradually erodes their emotional vitality, even if they consciously disregard or suppress this decline. Eventually, this depletion is ingrained in their subconscious, like a dwindling fuel supply, until one day they find themselves completely devoid of motivation or desire to continue. The quote emphasizes the need for nourishing and invigorating experiences to maintain one's emotional and mental resilience.

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