Learn that the present hour alone is man's.
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes the importance of living in the present moment.
Samuel Johnson's quote reminds us that the only time we truly possess is the present. While the past has shaped us and the future holds possibilities, it is in the present moment where we have the agency to act and make choices, highlighting the importance of mindfulness and being fully engaged in our current experiences.
In practice
During a motivational speech about embracing life, one might say, 'As Samuel Johnson said, learn that the present hour alone is man's.'
To be of no church is dangerous. Religion, of which the rewards are distant, and which is animated only by faith and hope, will glide by degrees out of the mind unless it be invigorated and reimpressed by external ordinances, by stated calls to worship, and the salutary influence of example.
He that reads and grows no wiser seldom suspects his own deficiency, but complains of hard words and obscure sentences, and asks why books are written which cannot be understood.
To let friendship die away by negligence and silence is certainly not wise. It is voluntarily to throw away one of the greatest comforts of the weary pilgrimage.
Fly-fishing may be a very pleasant amusement; but angling or float fishing I can only compare to a stick and a string, with a worm at one end and a fool at the other.
When any anxiety or gloom of the mind takes hold of you, make it a rule not to publish it by complaining; but exert yourselves to hide it, and by endeavoring to hide it you drive it away.
A fishing rod is a stick with a hook at one end and a fool at the other.
Whoever is first in the field and awaits the coming of the enemy, will be fresh for the fight; whoever is second in the field and has to hasten to battle will arrive exhausted.
Every man needs a blind eye and a deaf ear, so when people applaud, you'll only hear half of it, and when people salute, you'll only see part of it. Believe only half the praise and half the criticism.
I hate pain, despite my ability to tolerate it beyond all known parameters, which is not necessarily a good thing.
I curled myself into a ball and cried quietly, doing that thing that only young people can do, namely, feeling sorry for myself. Once you're past thirty you lose that ability; instead of feeling sorry for yourself you turn bitter.
The beginning is the most important part of the work.
The moment people feel they know what to expect from you, your spell on them is broken. More: You have ceded them power.
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