Reality - Dreams = Animal Being Reality + Dreams = A Heart-Ache (usually called Idealism) Reality + Humor = Realism (also called Conservatism) Dreams - Humor = Fanaticism Dreams + Humor = Fantasy Reality + Dreams + Humor = Wisdom
Lin YutangRead
It is important that man dreams, but it is perhaps equally important that he can laugh at his own dreams.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Dreams are essential for aspiration, but self-awareness and humor about them are equally important.
This quote emphasizes the significance of having dreams and aspirations in life while also highlighting the importance of maintaining a sense of humor about those dreams. It suggests that dreaming is a vital part of the human experience, but the ability to laugh at our ambitions reflects a healthy perspective that can lead to greater wisdom and resilience.
Themes
DreamsHumorSelf-AwarenessAspirationLife
In practice
Example use cases
During a motivational speech about pursuing goals, one could use this quote to remind the audience about the value of humor in their journey.
More from Lin Yutang
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All women's dresses, in every age and country, are merely variations on the eternal struggle between the admitted desire to dress and the unadmitted desire to undress.
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This I conceive to be the chemical function of humor: to change the character of our thought.
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If you can spend a perfectly useless afternoon in a perfectly useless manner, you have learned how to live.
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It is that unoccupied space which makes a room habitable, as it is our leisure hours which make life endurable.
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