Everything in nature is the result of fixed laws.
Charles DarwinRead
If I had not been so great an invalid, I should not have done so much as I have accomplished.
Interpretation
Overcoming adversity can lead to significant accomplishments.
Charles Darwin's quote reflects on the idea that personal struggles and limitations can often drive individuals to achieve greater things than they might have otherwise. In this context, being an 'invalid' β someone who is ill or disabled β may have compelled him to focus intensely on his work, leading to profound contributions to science despite challenges.
In practice
This quote can inspire a keynote speech about resilience and personal growth.
Everything in nature is the result of fixed laws.
The highest possible stage in moral culture is when we recognize that we ought to control our thoughts.
I am quite conscious that my speculations run beyond the bounds of true science....It is a mere rag of an hypothesis with as many flaw[s] & holes as sound parts.
We cannot fathom the marvelous complexity of an organic being; but on the hypothesis here advanced this complexity is much increased. Each living creature must be looked at as a microcosm--a little universe, formed of a host of self-propagating organisms, inconceivably minute and as numerous as the stars in heaven.
I have called this principle, by which each slight variation, if useful, is preserved, by the term of Natural Selection.
we are always slow in admitting any great change of which we do not see the intermediate steps
Greatness is not found in possessions, power, position, or prestige. It is discovered in goodness, humility, service, and character.
Self-absorption in all its forms kills empathy, let alone compassion. When we focus on ourselves, our world contracts as our problems and preoccupations loom large. But when we focus on others, our world expands. Our own problems drift to the periphery of the mind and so seem smaller, and we increase our capacity for connection - or compassionate action.
Sometimes the simplest and best use of our will is to drop it all and just walk out from under everything that is covering us, even if only for an hour or soβjust walk out from under the webs we've spun, the tasks we've assumed, the problems we have to solve. They'll be there when we get back, and maybe some of them will fall apart without our worry to hold them up.
Like a cube of ice, anger cannot be eliminated by applying force, only by applying warmth, compassion and kindness.
Programming is not a zero-sum game. Teaching something to a fellow programmer doesn't take it away from you. I'm happy to share what I can, because I'm in it for the love of programming.
I have absolutely no objection to growing older. I am a stroke survivor so I am extremely grateful to be ageing - I have nothing but gratitude for the passing years. I am ageing - lucky, lucky me!
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