None are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm.
Henry David ThoreauRead
Why should I feel lonely? is not our planet in the Milky Way?
Interpretation
The quote reflects on the idea of connection and belonging, emphasizing that we are part of a larger universe.
Henry David Thoreau questions the feeling of loneliness by reminding us of our place in the vast Milky Way galaxy. This suggests that even in moments of solitude, one can find comfort in the thought that we are part of a larger existence, interconnected with the universe and all its elements, which can alleviate feelings of isolation.
In practice
In a speech about mental health at a community gathering, you might quote Thoreau to highlight the importance of feeling connected to the greater universe.
None are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm.
Through want of enterprise and faith men are where they are, buying and selling and spending their lives like servants.
An early-morning walk is a blessing for the whole day.
Have no mean hours, but be grateful for every hour, and accept what it brings. The reality will make any sincere record respectable.
As every season seems best to us in its turn, so the coming in of spring is like the creation of Cosmos out of Chaos and the realization of the Golden Age.
That grand old poem called Winter
To write the lives of the great in separating them from their works necessarily ends by above all stressing their pettiness, because it is in their work that they have put the best of themselves.
The Black skin is not a badge of shame, but rather a glorious symbol of national greatness.
Man is made or unmade by himself. In the armory of thought he forges the weapons by which he destroys himself. He also fashions the tools with which he builds for himself heavenly mansions of joy and strength and peace.
If we go back to the beginning, we shall find that ignorance and fear created the gods; that fancy, enthusiasm, or deceit adorned them; that weakness worships them; that credulity preserves them and that custom, respect and tyranny support them in order to make the blindness of men serve their own interests. If the ignorance of nature gave birth to gods, the knowledge of nature is calculated to destroy them.
We are all racing towards death. No matter how many great, intellectual conclusions we draw during our lives, we know they're all only man-made, like God. I begin to wonder where it all leads. What can you do, except do what you can do as best you know how.
Whatever you may be sure of, be sure of this, that you are dreadfully like other people.
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