What we want is to see the child in pursuit of knowledge, and not knowledge in pursuit of the child.
George Bernard ShawRead
Happiness and beauty are by-products. Folly is the direct pursuit of happiness and beauty.
Interpretation
What this quote means
True happiness and beauty come naturally as we engage in meaningful pursuits rather than chasing them directly.
In this quote, George Bernard Shaw posits that happiness and beauty are not goals to be pursued in isolation, but rather are the natural results of engaging in fulfilling activities and living a meaningful life. The direct pursuit of these concepts can lead to folly, suggesting that fixating on them can distract us from the deeper aspects of life that ultimately lead to true joy and appreciation of beauty.
Themes
HappinessBeautyPursuitFollyMeaningful Life
In practice
Example use cases
Using this quote in a motivational speech about finding joy in life's journey rather than chasing superficial goals.
More from George Bernard Shaw
All quotes βMarriage is good enough for the lower classes: they have facilities for desertion that are denied to us.
George Bernard ShawRead
Forgive him, for he believes that the customs of his tribe are the laws of nature!
George Bernard ShawRead
Those who talk most about the blessings of marriage and the constancy of its vows are the very people who declare that if the chain were broken and the prisoners left free to choose, the whole social fabric would fly asunder. You cannot have the argument both ways. If the prisoner is happy, why lock him in? If he is not, why pretend that he is?
George Bernard ShawRead
Treat a friend as a person who may someday become your enemy; an enemy as a person who may someday become your friend.
George Bernard ShawRead
The happiness of credulity is a cheap and dangerous quality.
George Bernard ShawRead
Similar quotes
At 11 years old, I made a very definitive decision, and my decision was that I wanted to be happy. Above and beyond anything I ever did in my life, I wanted to be happy.
Goldie HawnRead
The best things in life aren't things.
Art BuchwaldRead
Being joyful isn't what makes you grateful. Being grateful is what makes you joyful.
Ann VoskampRead
I think you can be depressed and flourish, I think you can have cancer and flourish, I think you can be divorced and flourish. When we believed that happiness was only smiling and good mood, that wasn't very good for people like me, people in the lower half of positive affectivity.
Martin SeligmanRead
Make it a habit to tell people thank you. To express your appreciation, sincerely and without the expectation of anything in return. Truly appreciate those around you, and you'll soon find many others around you. Truly appreciate life, and you'll find that you have more of it.
Ralph MarstonRead
A quiet secluded life in the country, with the possibility of being useful to people to whom it is easy to do good, and who are not accustomed to have it done to them; then work which one hopes may be of some use; then rest, nature, books, music, love for one's neighbor β such is my idea of happiness.
Leo TolstoyRead