Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple and learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen.
John SteinbeckRead
What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness? You only truly, deeply appreciate and are grateful for something when you compare and contrast it to something worse.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Summer's warmth is only appreciated after experiencing winter's cold, highlighting the value of contrast in life.
This quote by John Steinbeck emphasizes the importance of experiencing hardships to truly appreciate the good times. It suggests that without the contrasting experiences of adversity, such as the cold of winter, we may not fully recognize and appreciate the joys and warmth of life, akin to summer. This perspective invites reflection on how challenges and struggles ultimately enrich our understanding and gratitude for better times.
Themes
AppreciationContrastExperienceGratitudeLife
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be shared in a motivational speech to emphasize resilience during tough times.
More from John Steinbeck
All quotes →At one point, as Samuel urges Adam to raise his boys well regardless of the blood that might be in them, Adam tells him, "You can't make a race horse of a pig." Samuel replies, "No, but you can make a very fast pig.
John SteinbeckRead
And when that crop grew, and was harvested, no man had crumbled a hot clod in his fingers and let the earth sift past his fingertips. No man had touched the seed, or lusted for the growth. Men ate what they had not raised, had no connection with the bread. The land bore under iron, and under iron gradually died; for it was not loved or hated, it had no prayers or curses.
John SteinbeckRead
The comfortable people in tight houses felt pity at first, and then distaste, and finally hatred for the migrant people.
John SteinbeckRead
People do not want advice - they want corroboration.
John SteinbeckRead
It is one of the triumphs of the human that he can know a thing and still not believe it.
John SteinbeckRead
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