And lastly from that period I remember riding in a taxi one afternoon between very tall buildings under a mauve and rosy sky; I began to bawl because I had everything I wanted and knew I would never be so happy again.
Interpretation
The quote expresses a moment of overwhelming joy and the awareness of its fleeting nature.
In this quote, F. Scott Fitzgerald captures a profound moment of happiness experienced while riding in a taxi. The scene is set against a backdrop of tall buildings and a beautiful sky, which enhances the emotional weight of the moment. The narrator reflects on the realization that such happiness may never be felt again, highlighting the bittersweet nature of human emotions and the transience of joyful experiences.
In practice
During a graduation speech to highlight the bittersweet nature of achieving dreams.
Don't be so anxious about it,' she laughed. 'I'm not used to being loved. I wouldn't know what to do; I never got the trick of it.' She looked down at him, shy and fatigued. 'So here we are. I told you years ago that I had the makings of Cinderella.' He took her hand; she drew it back instinctively and then replaced it in his. 'Beg your pardon. Not even used to being touched. But I'm not afraid of you, if you stay quiet and don't move suddenly.
The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function.
It was about then [1920] that I wrote a line which certain people will not let me forget: "She was a faded but still lovely woman of twenty-seven."
The words seemed to bite physically into Gatsby.
But you can love more than just one person, can't you?
A sudden gust of rain blew over them and then another - as if small liquid clouds were bouncing along the land. Lightning entered the sea far off and the air blew full of crackling thunder. The table cloths blew around the pillars. They blew and blew and blew. The flags twisted around the red chairs like live things, the banners were ragged, the corners of the table tore off through the burbling billowing ends of the cloths.
I have chosen to be happy because it is goo for my health.
I know for sure that's what we're here to do: Keep the joy thing going for all seasons.
Happiness is a decision, not an experience. You can decide to be happy without what you thought you needed in order to be happy, and you will be. Your experience is the result of your decision, not the cause of it.
Money is the most envied, but the least enjoyed. Health is the most enjoyed, but the least envied.
The thankful heart will find, in every hour, some heavenly blessings.
As you identify less and less with the “me”, you will be more at ease with everybody and with everything. Do you know why? Because you are no longer afraid of being hurt or not liked. You no longer desire to impress anyone. Can you imagine the relief when you don't have to impress anybody anymore? Oh, what a relief. Happiness at last!
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