Sadness is more or less like a head cold - with patience, it passes. Depression is like cancer.
Barbara KingsolverRead
Even feigning surprise, pretending it was unexpected and saying a ritual thanks, is surely wiser than just expecting everything so carelessly.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Acknowledge the unexpected with gratitude rather than taking things for granted.
This quote emphasizes the importance of recognizing the surprises that life can bring and the wisdom in expressing gratitude, even if one is feigning surprise. It suggests that by cultivating a mindset of appreciation, we become wiser and more mindful, rather than carelessly expecting outcomes without acknowledgment of their value.
Themes
GratitudeSurpriseWisdomAppreciationMindfulness
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech at a community event, one might use this quote to encourage appreciation for life's unexpected moments.
More from Barbara Kingsolver
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I'm of a fearsome mind to throw my arms around every living librarian who crosses my path, on behalf of the souls they never knew they saved.
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I did it to win love, and to prove myself capable. Not to move mountains. In my opinions, mountains don't move. They only look changed when you look down on them from great height.
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Memory is a complicated thing, a relative to truth, but not its twin.
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Empathy is really the opposite of spiritual meanness. It's the capacity to understand that every war is both won and lost. And that someone else's pain is as meaningful as your own.
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