The true secret of giving advice is, after you have honestly given it, to be perfectly indifferent whether it is taken or not, and never persist in trying to set people right.
Henry Ward BeecherRead
Thinking cannot be clear until it has had expression-we must write, or speak, or act our thoughts, or they will remain in half torpid form. Our feelings must have expression, or they will be as clouds, which, till they descend in rain, will never bring up fruit or flowers. So it is with all the inward feelings; expression gives them development-thought is the blossom; language is the opening bud; action the fruit behind it.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Expression is essential for clear thought and emotional development.
This quote by Henry Ward Beecher emphasizes the significance of expressing our thoughts and feelings. It suggests that without articulation, our ideas and emotions can remain stagnant and unfulfilled. Just as a blossom needs to bloom to become fruit, our thoughts require expression through writing, speaking, or action in order to grow and have a meaningful impact.
Themes
ExpressionThoughtsFeelingsLanguageDevelopment
In practice
Example use cases
Use this quote in a speech about the importance of communication in personal growth.
More from Henry Ward Beecher
All quotes →A man who cannot get angry is like a stream that cannot overflow, that is always turbid. Sometimes indignation is as good as a thunderstorm in summer, clearing and cooling the air.
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No one can deal with the hearts of men unless he has the sympathy which is given by love.
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We are always on the anvil; by trials God is shaping us for higher things.
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No man can tell if he is rich or poor by turning to his ledger. It is the heart that makes a man rich. He is rich according to what he is, not according to what he has.
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There are joys which long to be ours. God sends ten thousands truths, which come about us like birds seeking inlet; but we are shut up to them, and so they bring us nothing, but sit and sing awhile upon the roof, and then fly away.
Henry Ward BeecherRead
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