We can come to look upon the deaths of our enemies with as much regret as we feel for those of our friends, namely, when we miss their existence as witnesses to our success.
Arthur SchopenhauerRead
The little incidents and accidents of every day fill us with emotion, anxiety, annoyance, passion, as long as they are close to us, when they appear so big, so important, so serious; but as soon as they are borne down the restless stream of time they lose what significance they had; we think no more of them and soon forget them altogether. They were big only because they were near.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Our emotional reactions to daily events diminish over time as they fade from our immediate experience.
Arthur Schopenhauer's quote reflects on the transient nature of our emotions tied to daily events. He suggests that the significance we assign to these 'little incidents and accidents' is often inflated by their immediacy; over time, as we move further away from these events, their importance diminishes and they become forgettable. This observation urges us to consider the ephemeral nature of our anxieties and passions, which may not hold the same weight in the broader context of life.
Themes
EmotionAnxietyTimeIncidentsImportance
In practice
Example use cases
During a motivational speech about resilience: 'Remember, the little incidents we stress about often fade away with time.'
More from Arthur Schopenhauer
All quotes βTo be shocked at how deeply rejection hurts is to ignore what acceptance involves. We must never allow our suffering to be compounded by suggestions that there is something odd in suffering so deeply. There would be something amiss if we didn't.
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Life is full of troubles and vexations, that one must either rise above it by means of corrected thoughts, or leave it.
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Our religions will never at any time take root; the ancient wisdom of the human race will not be supplanted by the events in Galilee. On the contrary, Indian wisdom flows back to Europe, and will produce a fundamental change in our knowledge and thought.
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We will gradually become indifferent to what goes on in the minds of other people when we acquire a knowledge of the superficial nature of their thoughts, the narrowness of their views and of the number of their errors. Whoever attaches a lot of value to the opinions of others pays them too much honor.
Arthur SchopenhauerRead
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