It is not enough to reach for the brass ring. You must also enjoy the merry go round.
Interpretation
Striving for goals is important, but one must also find joy in the journey.
This quote emphasizes that while achieving one's goals (symbolized by reaching for the brass ring) is significant, it is equally crucial to appreciate and enjoy the experiences and moments that accompany the pursuit of those goals (represented by the merry-go-round). Life is not solely about reaching milestones but also about savouring the process and experiences along the way.
In practice
In a graduation speech, one might say this to encourage students to appreciate their time in school as much as their future careers.
I've learned a lot of things about myself through singing. I used to have a certain dislike of the audience, not as individual people, but as a giant body who was judging me. Of course, it wasn`t really them judging me. It was me judging me. Once I got past that fear, it freed me up, not just when I was performing but in other parts of my life.
Singing has been a cherished gift, and my inability to sing has been a devastating blow.
My mother was terribly important to me, and I know how much I yearned for her in my youth, but I don't think I truly trusted her.
I come from a long line of below-stairs maids and gardeners. Good ol' peasant stock. My mother and her sister made a quantum leap out of that life. Then I made another quantum leap.
Every time I go out to perform, believe me. You never lose that fear of, 'I hope I do it right. I hope I don't fall flat on my face. I hope this will be good for them.'
Success is terrifying. Like happiness, it is often appreciated in retrospect. It's only later that you place it in perspective. Years from now, I'll look back and say, βGod, wasn't it wonderful.β
When I say to the Moment flying; 'Linger a while -- thou art so fair!' Then bind me in thy bonds undying, And my final ruin I will bear!
Perhaps it is the greatest grief, after all, to be left on earth when another is gone.
The only thing he could do to stay alive was not to allow himself the anguish of that memory. He erased it from his mind, although from time to time in the years that were left to him he would feel it revive, with no warning and for no reason, like the sudden pang of an old scar.
Donβt you love New York in the fall? It makes me wanna buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address. On the other hand, this not knowing has its charms.
When you're 25, it's a little bit easier to be daring, especially if you are a pop star, because eccentric behavior is expected from you.
The desert weed lives on, but the flower of spring blooms and wilts.
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