Pain and suffering are always inevitable for a large intelligence and a deep heart. The really great men must, I think, have great sadness on earth.
Fyodor DostoevskyRead
My God, a moment of bliss. Why, isn't that enough for a whole lifetime?
Interpretation
A fleeting moment of joy can hold immense value, potentially offering enough fulfillment for an entire life.
Dostoevsky highlights the profound impact that brief, blissful experiences can have on our overall sense of happiness. This quote suggests that even a single moment of joy can be so significant that it enriches our entire existence, indicating that quality of experience can outweigh quantity.
In practice
In a speech about the importance of savoring lifeβs simple pleasures.
Pain and suffering are always inevitable for a large intelligence and a deep heart. The really great men must, I think, have great sadness on earth.
What if, when this fog scatters and flies upward, the whole rotten, slimey city goes with it, rises with the fog and vanishes like smoke.
Love the animals: God has given them the rudiments of thought and joy untroubled.
Love the animals, love the plants, love everything. If you love everything, you will perceive the divine mystery in things. Once you perceive it, you will begin to comprehend it better every day. And you will come at last to love the whole world with an all-embracing love.
But do you understand, I cry to him, do you understand that if you have the guillotine in the forefront, and with such glee, it's for the sole reason that cutting heads off is the easiest thing, and having an idea is difficult!
...to return to their 'native soil,' as they say, to the bosom, so to speak, of their mother earth, like frightened children, yearning to fall asleep on the withered bosom of their decrepit mother, and to sleep there for ever, only to escape the horrors that terrify them.
The joy of losing consists in this: Where there are no expectations, there is no disappointment.
The thankful heart will find, in every hour, some heavenly blessings.
Life should be blissful, and blissful doesn't mean just a small happiness. It's huge. It is profound.
A smile happens in a flash, but its memory can last a lifetime.
I've about decided that's the main thing that separates happy people from the other people: the feeling that you're a practical item, with a use, like a sweater or a socket wrench.
I like the rain before it falls. of course there is no such thing, she said. That's why it's my favorite. Something can still make you happy, can't it, even if it isn't real.
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