I feel an earnest and humble desire, and shall do till I die, to increase the stock of harmless cheerfulness.
Interpretation
The quote expresses a deep commitment to spreading joy and positivity throughout life.
Charles Dickens articulates a profound aspiration to enhance the overall happiness and cheerfulness in the world. His dedication to this noble cause reflects a universal truth about the importance of fostering joy among people, suggesting that the act of spreading positivity is not only meaningful but also a lifelong endeavor.
In practice
In a speech at a charity event, one might say, 'As Charles Dickens once expressed, I feel an earnest and humble desire to increase the stock of harmless cheerfulness among us.'
I recollected one story there was in the village, how that on a certain night in the year (it might be that very night for anything I knew), all the dead people came out of the ground and sat at the heads of their own graves till morning.
A silent look of affection and regard when all other eyes are turned coldly away-the consciousness that we possess the sympathy and affection of one being when all others have deserted us-is a hold, a stay, a comfort, in the deepest affliction, which no wealth could purchase, or power bestow.
Heaven knows we need never be ashamed of our tears, for they are rain upon the blinding dust of earth, overlying our hard hearts. I was better after I had cried, than before--more sorry, more aware of my own ingratitude, more gentle.
There are not a few among the disciples of charity who require, in their vocation, scarcely less excitement than the votaries of pleasure in theirs.
You might, from your appearance, be the wife of Lucifer,” said Miss Pross, in her breathing. “Nevertheless, you shall not get the better of me. I am an Englishwoman.
Christmas is a poor excuse every 25th of December to pick a man's pockets.
Confidence; as a teenager? Because I knew what I loved. I loved to read; I loved to listen to music; and I love cats. Those three things. So, even though I was an only kid, I could be happy because I knew what I loved.
Happiness is neither virtue nor pleasure nor this thing nor that but simply growth, We are happy when we are growing.
I wasn't handed college or graduate school or anything else on a silver platter. I had to work very hard, but I did it because I wanted to. That's the real key to happiness. I think unhappy people are those who feel that circumstances are forcing them into a pattern. Happy people are not slaves to the system.
I was happy, I knew that. While experiencing happiness, we have difficulty in being conscious of it. Only when the happiness is past and we look back on it do we suddenly realize - sometimes with astonishment - how happy we had been.
Always keep your smile. That's how I explain my long life.
There is an hour wherein a man might be happy all his life, could he find it.
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