- What is your current state of mind? Unsettled. Restless. (Permanent Status.)
- What is your favorite journey? To stay home.
- What is your idea of perfect happiness? Solitude. Followed closely by Donuts.
- What is your greatest fear? Mortality.
- What is your most marked characteristic? Impatience. Volatility.
- What is the trait you most deplore in yourself? Introversion. Restlessness.
- What is the trait you most deplore in others? Cruelty. Arrogance.
- What is your greatest extravagance? Gadgets. (Latest edition. Don’t ask how many.)
- What do you consider the most overrated virtue? Optimism.
- On what occasion do you lie? It’s rare.
- Dislike most about your appearance? I’m at peace with it all (except morning weigh-ins)
- Which living person do you most despise? Despise, such a strong word. No one.
- Which words or phrases do you most overuse? “Are you prepared to hear this?”
- What is your greatest regret? Memories of cruelty.
- What or who is the greatest love of your life? Family.
- When and where were you happiest? Right now.
- Which talent would you most like to have? Pianist like Beethoven. Writer like Steinbeck.
- If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? Less introverted.
- If you could change one thing about your family, what would it be? Accept that the Patriarch is right.
- What do you consider your greatest achievement? Our two children.
- What is your most treasured possession? Gadgets. All of them.
- What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery? The poor, the cold and the hungry in winter. Cruelty to animals.
- Where would you like to live? Home. Wherever home is.
- What is your favorite occupation? The one I’m in. Love it or leave it.
- What is the quality you most like in a man? Humor and humility.
- What is the quality you most like in a woman? Grace and kindness.
- What do you most value in your friends? Truth.
- Who are your favorite writers? Haruki Murakami. Mary Oliver. Steinbeck. Ted Kooser.
- Who is your favorite hero of fiction? Bugs Bunny.
- What is it that you most dislike? Meals without prodigious amounts of dessert.
- Who are your heroes in real life? No heros. I admire the gentle, the kind, the humble.
- How would you like to die? I wouldn’t.
- If you were to die and come back as a person or thing, what do you think it would be? A Golden Retriever. Or Bruce Springsteen.
- What is your motto? Never look back.
The Proust Questionnaire has its origins in a parlor game popularized (though not devised) by Marcel Proust, the French essayist and novelist, who believed that, in answering these questions, an individual reveals his or her true nature. (Source: Vanity Fair)
Live & Learn 
Best.post.ever. Good on you, pal
LikeLiked by 3 people
Smiling. Thank Goodness for you Mimi. This blog could.not.persist. You are like the Sun Rising.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Oh my friend, I’ll always be here.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank goodness for that?🤗
LikeLike
Ok. Are you prepared to hear this?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well, you’ve baited the hook.
LikeLike
I’m joking. But I’ll be using this with others going further.
Restless? I would not have guessed.
I’ll answer the questionnaire and post after work. Love this. Thanks for posting.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Look forward to it. Did u change your handle for your blog? Haven’t seen notification in some time?
LikeLiked by 1 person
I haven’t posted in almost a year. It’s still there but I changed it to private setting until I figure out what I’m doing. I’ve been itching to go back though.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Now. It will be a great way to re-fire the engines again with Proust Questionnaire
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ll post my as answers here 🙂
LikeLiked by 2 people
Ha. You are certainly welcome to do both.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sawsan, I just have to say, I never know what I’m doing (I’m referencing your comment further along this string), and I usually blog about THAT. I really can’t wait to read whatever confusion you deign to write!
LikeLiked by 3 people
Interesting — and helpful in the age of textual communication. As I read your responses, I said, “Oh, I never would’ve guessed that!” and, “Me, too.” 🙂
LikeLiked by 2 people
Smiling. So glad!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Geez….I wanted to be Bruce Springsteen…now I’ll have to find someone else…
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s me, and that’s taken. Sorry.
LikeLike
Always enjoy the answers provided to this questionnaire in VF. Some of your responses took me by surprise, and others had me nodding vigorously. Fun to see. May have to try this myself, but unlike Sawsan, don’t think I’m brave enough to do the ‘Full Monty’ reveal… :-O
LikeLiked by 2 people
Oh you’re brave enough. 😀
LikeLike
I would love to read whatever you feel brave enough to reveal. Even half-truths are telling.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Lori, listen to Sandy, there is a lot of wisdom there. We’re waiting.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The patriarch is always right! . . . and never you forget that.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s right!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love this post, David. Had me smiling, nodding, sighing, agreeing, chuckling.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Anneli.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Summary: A kind, honest, but restless introvert who prefers to stay home with family, books, gadgets and dessert. Sounds like a pretty good life to me.
LikeLiked by 1 person
#’s 20, 25 and 26; the answers of which constitutes a stable nuclear family unit. And by it a stable ordered society.
And it has been said that nothing of tradition and the past are of value. That is the argument of those who in truth have nothing worthwhile to offer in their stead.
-Alan
LikeLiked by 1 person
Stable family unit. Humility. I so agree Alan.
LikeLiked by 1 person
What a great way to learn about someone you are never likely to meet. Some of those answers were totally not what I would have imagined. Great post.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Smiling. Great!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Loved this post; so much here. I just may have to fill it out myself. (By the way, have you read Quiet?)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Roseanne. I’d love to see it. As to Quiet, do you mean:. Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004J4WNL2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_rH58zb5GTKF82
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes. Thought you probably had. 🙂
LikeLiked by 2 people
😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
If it is, yes. Excellent book.
LikeLike
So many nods and smiles, David…
Luv #31.. and do so agree!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Smiling. Thank you Carolyn.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Why don’t you like being introverted? I love my introversion – it was never accepted by anyone, but now I can be totally myself, I totally enjoy it. And we’re def on the same page on #9. And the first two on #28. We all love Murakami. And #32 – you are a funny man! ;D
LikeLiked by 1 person
It is not a matter of not liking it Bela. I do “like” it – I love my introversion, my solitude and I am at peace there. It is events and situations that I need to participate in that require extraversion that raise the discomfort level. Interesting how aligned we are on somethings, and I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, we follow those blogs with which we identify.
LikeLiked by 2 people
such a funny honesty – all you, absolutely. i am an introvert as well, as much as i love people an the human story. it all made sense, when i read ‘quiet’ as well –
LikeLiked by 1 person
Smiling. Thank you Beth.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Like some of your other readers, some of your answers took me by surprise and others most definitely not. It’s a shame that you’re not at peace with being an introvert, and I wish you’d find the faith so that you didn’t have to be so concerned about the end. I pray for you, as I do for the other true seekers and troubled souls I’ve ‘met’ on WordPress.
As for Proust, I read this yesterday:
‘A letter in the Guardian claimed that in the 1970s, when books had to be moved from the old library in Worthing to the new one, the library encouraged people to borrow as many books as they wanted from the old library, then return them to the new one.
“The shelves in the old library were soon empty,” the letter says. Except for the one that held the complete works of Proust.’
I read it on this blog which I think you might like: https://notesfromtheuk.com/
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Sarah. And thank you for sharing the link to the blog post. I will read it this weekend. As to not being at peace at being an introvert – I am very much at peace with that – but when events and work toss me into situations that is incongruent with solitude and introversion, there is the rub.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ah, I see. Thanks for the clarification. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
This is a great set of questions Dave … and I do apprecite your answers. Thank you for the smiles and nods. 😎
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Val. I did ponder these questions for some team. And I guess “That” is the point.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You had me at #29.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Laughing…
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ll also have to fill out this baby. Any chance to over-share!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Laughing, I’ll be waiting. We’ll be waiting.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Me too 👍
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great questions. Honest heartfelt answers! A golden retriever?! Nah, not again! you need to come back as Bruce! This is your true self, hidden under that old belief. Start singing Mr K 😊💃🏼
LikeLiked by 1 person
Laughing. Ok Karen. I’ll do it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well you were “Born in the USA” so that’s a start!! 😆
LikeLike
Well. No Karen. I was Born in Canada! I’m in trouble.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well true….but we are all one, so that solves this problem. 😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dreamer!
LikeLiked by 1 person
SO Inspiring DK. courage and honesty are beautiful things.
Insightful. great post. BRUCE?! 🙂
You might have… encouraged me to do this quiz as well. Maybe.
This ‘introvert’ thing…. yes, though we accept, and even embrace it, this trait is not so wonderful when up and center, presenting and performing.
They, the audience, do not respond well to blushing cheeks, blinking eyes, stammered words and rushing out the doors! LOL
LikeLiked by 1 person
Smiling. No. Audience wants to see comfort, extraversion, enthusiasm and everything was discomfort is not!
LikeLiked by 1 person
indeed. and so the masks go on 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes they do.
LikeLiked by 1 person
PARABOLA: What effect does [wearing a mask] have on the person wearing it?
PETER BROOK: I will speak of my experience with the Balinese masks, but I have to go back one step before that. One of the first, knockout exercises that you can do with actors, which is used in lots of theater schools where they use masks, is putting a plain, blank, white mask on someone.
The moment you take someone’s face away in that way, it’s the most electrifying impression: suddenly to find oneself knowing that that thing one lives with, and which knows is transmitting something all the time, is no longer there. It’s the most extraordinary sense of liberation. It is one of those great exercises that whoever does for the first time counts as a great moment: to suddenly find oneself immediately for a certain time liberated from one’s own subjectivity. And the awakening of a body awareness is immediately there with it, irresistibly; so that if you want to make an actor aware of his body, instead of explaining it to him and saying, “You have a body and you need to be aware of it,” just put a bit of white paper on his face and say, “Now look around.” He can’t fail to be instantly aware of everything he normally forgets, because all the attention has been released from this great magnet on top.
–from Lie and Glorious Adjective, an interview with English theatre and film director and innovator, Peter Brook on the subject of the transformative power of mask. PARABOLA, Vol. 6., Issue 3, “Mask & Metaphor,” Fall 1981.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Another good find David. I found this so interesting. I’ve reread this a few times. Then, went looking for more info on Mr. Brooks.
In one article, he said “an actor’s motivation… comes from his capacity to create an incredibly powerful image in himself that he’s convinced by.”
LikeLiked by 1 person
Very interesting…and inspiring reading, David. No ‘bombshells’. Maybe that was an expectation typical of an extrovert 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Smiling. Thank you Helen. Would love to see your responses. When you are ready.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Maybe on day when my courage has returned…
LikeLiked by 1 person
David love this questionnaire! Loved reading your answers and thought about my own responses to the questions. Thanks for sharing yourself with us!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Yvonne. I will be waiting for your post. Soon.
LikeLike
Hmmm…do I dare answer all those questions too???? 🙂 Yes, I might! I’ll follow your lead!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Come Yvonne. You are in stadium. First person stands to start The Wave. You must follow. Must.
LikeLike
You know what I was just doing???? I was writing the answers to that questionnaire for a blog post. I’m following…dragging my feet a bit, but following. You’re a good leader, so here I am.
LikeLiked by 1 person
So glad!
LikeLike
Ok David. Doing the wave!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I see that Yvonne. Good for you. Great for us. Thank you.
LikeLike
Way late. but hey… I’m here now. Loved reading this about you, DK
LikeLiked by 1 person
Any surprises? 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Not overly… 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
This will be fascinating reading for another time – must dash!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Can’t wait for this! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
not sure how I missed this the first time around, but glad I came across it eventually. quite an interesting way to get to know someone!
LikeLiked by 1 person
It is.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I just CAN’T read and digest it in peace. My hours are packed to breaking point, when in Switzerland it’s visits, enquiries, worries, and a few snatched hours of doing something I like doing (yesterday a longish walk along Lake Zurich and then, by pure chance, ‘saddling’ the only boat passing at the landing where we stopped for a moment, we then took said ship for the 12′ or so minute last leg back to Zurich), more rehearsals, Christmas concerts & celebrations, meals with mothers, prepas…. I NEED MORE TIME – will be back.
LikeLike
Wow, exhausted just reading all of your events!
LikeLiked by 1 person
No 33 (a) – have mine (dream dog) already: https://twitter.com/PipTheDog5/status/1206116070278520832?s=20
LikeLiked by 1 person
awwww. Check these out:
“https://mymodernmet.com/claudio-piccoli-photos-of-dogs-in-mid-air/?fbclid=IwAR0tfOHFFFnT5pNJOYOkqW2VwsKelkxBtsEnALKeQoITkusxSA8F396l_io”
LikeLiked by 1 person
Out to buy frisbee… 😉 😉 where on earth do you store such crezy delights? Binge-Watching ….. laughing!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Exactly!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Late to the game…I was searching Bruce Springsteen, on your blog and this was first in line…I started reading and I thought wow “The Boss” and DK are so much alike! & Bruce and me like some of the same authors! Only when I started to read the comments and checked back at the offering title did I realize that the Proust Questionnaire was being answered by You! Oh, I must be slipping up in my observational skills 🙂 I not feeling well today so that just has to factor in…no doubt…
LikeLiked by 1 person
LAUGHING! SO FUNNY!
LikeLike
Laughing. All my fault! Well done Yvonne.
LikeLike