But what is after all the happiness of mere power? There is a greater happiness possible than to be lord of heaven and earth; that is the happiness of being truly loved.
Interpretation
True happiness comes from being loved rather than holding power.
Lafcadio Hearn's quote emphasizes that despite the allure of power and control over the world, a deeper and more profound happiness is found in genuine love and affection from others. It suggests that relationships and emotional connections fulfill us in ways that authority and dominance cannot.
In practice
In a speech about the importance of emotional well-being, one might say, 'As Lafcadio Hearn reminds us, true happiness comes from being truly loved.'
The tea ceremony requires years of training and practice ... yet the whole of this art, as to its detail, signifies no more than the making and serving of a cup of tea. The supremely important matter is that the act be performed in the most perfect, most polite, most graceful, most charming manner possible.
No man can possibly know what life means, what the world means, until he has a child and loves it. And then the whole universe changes and nothing will ever again seem exactly as it seemed before.
Japanese affection is not uttered in words; it scarcely appears even in the tone of voice; it is chiefly shown in acts of exquisite courtesy and kindness.
In the world of reality the more beautiful a work of art, the longer, we may be sure, was the time required to make it, and the greater the number of different minds which assisted in its development.
Love makes its record in deeper colors as we grow out of childhood into manhood.
If I fear to hold another to the highest goal because it is so much easier to avoid doing so, then I know nothing of Calvary love.
In a competition of love we'll all share in the victory, no matter who comes first
mother says that two souls are sometimes created together and--and in love before they're born.
She wasn't much to look at but she was something to think about.
Everyone sleeps, except lovers, who stay awake, telling stories to God
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