We can never know what we want, because, living only one life, we can neither compare it with our previous lives nor perfect it in our lives to come. {...} And what can life be worth if the first rehearsal for life is life itself? That is why life is always like a sketch. No, 'sketch' is not quite the word, because a sketch is an outline of something, the groundwork for a picture, whereas the sketch that is our life is a sketch for nothing, an outline with no picture.
In Milan Kundera's "The Unbearable Lightness of Being," the author reflects on the nature of life and our understanding of desire and fulfillment. He suggests that since we live only one life, we cannot truly know what we want, as we have no previous lives to compare it to and no future lives from which to draw experience. This inability to fully grasp our desires leaves life feeling unanchored and ephemeral.
Kundera argues that life resembles a sketch that lacks a finished picture, representing our experiences as incomplete and transient. This metaphor implies that our existence is not a rehearsal for something greater but rather a series of moments without an ultimate culmination. In this view, life's uncertainty and fragility challenge our perceptions of meaning and purpose, emphasizing the inherent limitations we face in making sense of our journey.
