Happiness, in the ancient, noble sense, means self-fulfillment—and is given to those who use to the fullest whatever talents God … bestowed upon them.
Interpretation
True happiness comes from realizing and utilizing one's talents to their fullest potential.
This quote suggests that happiness is not merely the absence of sadness, but a profound sense of fulfillment that arises from the effective use of one's unique abilities and talents. It implies that individuals who recognize and maximize their potential are more likely to experience genuine joy and satisfaction in life.
In practice
A motivational speaker could use this quote to encourage individuals to pursue their passions.
Proverbs often contradict one another, as any reader soon discovers. The sagacity that advises us to look before we leap promptly warns us that if we hesitate we are lost; that absence makes the heart grow fonder, but out of sight, out of mind.
I never cease being dumbfounded by the unbelievable things people believe.
I came to believe it not true that "the coward dies a thousand deaths, the brave man only one." I think it is the other way around: It is the brave who die a thousand deaths. For it is imagination, and not just conscience, which doth make cowards of us all. Those who do not know fear are not truly brave.
The fellow who laughs last may laugh best, but he gets the reputation of being very slow-witted.
Words sing. They hurt. They teach. They sanctify. They were man's first, immeasurable feat of magic. They liberated us from ignorance and our barbarous past.
The purpose of life is to matter, to be productive, to have it make a difference that you lived at all-using the talents that God has given you for the betterment of others.
Man needs, for his happiness, not only the enjoyment of this or that, but hope and enterprise and change.
There are two ways to get enough. One is to continue to accumulate more and more. The other is to desire less.
A joyful heart is like the sunshine of God's love, the hope of eternal happiness.
Sitting back in the evening, stargazing and stroking your dog, is an infallible remedy.
It is not possible to sin enough to be happy. It isn't possible to buy enough to be happy, or to entertain or indulge or pamper ourselves enough to be happy. It is not possible to hide enough or run far enough away from trials and troubles to be happy. Happiness and joy come only when we are living up to who we are... I have never met anyone who was happier because he was immoral, or because he was addicted to something, or because he was dishonest and compromised his integrity.
If this were all to go away tomorrow, all the big success, I would still be very happy going from bar to bar playing music for people.
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