A little consideration of what takes place around us every day would show us that a higher law than that of our will regulates events; that our painful labors are unnecessary and fruitless; that only in our easy, simple, spontaneous action are we strong . . . . Place yourself in the middle of the stream of power and wisdom which animates all whom it floats, and you are without effort impelled to truth, to right, and a perfect contentment.
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes the importance of recognizing a greater force that guides our actions, suggesting that true strength lies in aligning with this natural flow.
Ralph Waldo Emerson's quote highlights the futility of striving against the natural order and encourages us to embrace simplicity and spontaneity. He suggests that when we allow ourselves to connect with the inherent wisdom and power of the universe, we will find ourselves effortlessly guided towards truth and fulfillment, rather than exhausting ourselves in struggle.
In practice
In a speech about mindfulness and presence, this quote can illustrate the importance of being aware of our surroundings.
It is plain that there is no separate essence called courage, no cup or cell in the brain, no vessel in the heart containing drops or atoms that make or give this virtue; but it is the right or healthy state of every man, when he is free to do that which is constitutional to him to do.
Few people have any next, they live from hand to mouth without a plan, and are always at the end of their line.
Men cease to interest us when we find their limitations
Tis the good reader that makes the good book; a good head cannot read amiss: in every book he finds passages which seem confidences or asides hidden from all else and unmistakeably meant for his ear.
The world belongs to the energetic.
Hast thou named all the birds without a gun?
The more I like me, the less I want to pretend to be other people.
The man who doesn’t make up his mind to cultivate the habit of thinking misses the greatest pleasure in life.
My folks tried to make a preacher of me and missed by a narrow margin… I would have made a good one if I hadn’t fallen into the fatal folly of reading anything I could lay hands on. With just a touch more self confidence and a liberal helping of ignorance I could have been a famous evangelist.
All I can tell you is that you cannot make choices in your own career, either career choices or choices when you're actually working as an actor, based on trying to downplay or live up to a comparison with somebody else. You just can't do that. You have to do your own work based on your own gut, your own instincts, and your own life.
If one oversteps the bounds of moderation, the greatest pleasures cease to please.
People make a lot of effort not to remember, not to accept their immense magical potential.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.