Pain and suffering are always inevitable for a large intelligence and a deep heart. The really great men must, I think, have great sadness on earth.
Fyodor DostoevskyRead
Man is unhappy because he doesn't know he's happy. If anyone finds out he'll become happy at once.
Interpretation
People often overlook their own happiness and fail to recognize it when it exists.
This quote by Fyodor Dostoevsky suggests that individuals frequently remain unaware of their own happiness, leading to feelings of unhappiness. It implies that the realization of one's own contentment can lead to an immediate shift in perspective, transforming one's emotional state.
In practice
In a motivational speech about mental well-being, one might reference this quote to illustrate the importance of recognizing personal happiness.
Pain and suffering are always inevitable for a large intelligence and a deep heart. The really great men must, I think, have great sadness on earth.
What if, when this fog scatters and flies upward, the whole rotten, slimey city goes with it, rises with the fog and vanishes like smoke.
Love the animals: God has given them the rudiments of thought and joy untroubled.
Love the animals, love the plants, love everything. If you love everything, you will perceive the divine mystery in things. Once you perceive it, you will begin to comprehend it better every day. And you will come at last to love the whole world with an all-embracing love.
But do you understand, I cry to him, do you understand that if you have the guillotine in the forefront, and with such glee, it's for the sole reason that cutting heads off is the easiest thing, and having an idea is difficult!
...to return to their 'native soil,' as they say, to the bosom, so to speak, of their mother earth, like frightened children, yearning to fall asleep on the withered bosom of their decrepit mother, and to sleep there for ever, only to escape the horrors that terrify them.
One is only happy in proportion as he makes others feel happy and only useful as he contributes his influences for the finer callings in life.
It is a new road to happiness, if you have strength enough to castigate a little the various impulses that sway you in turn.
That man is rich whose pleasures are the cheapest.
I've spent so much time feeling ugly and being treated as ugly as a result. But I changed my attitude and said, βIβm beautiful because I love everybody as much as I can. Iβm beautiful because I have wonderful friends. And Iβm beautiful because I say I am. Iβve earned it, and Iβm gonna be it.
Even people who believe they deserve to be happy and have nice things often don't feel worthy once they have them.
It is possible to live happily in the here and now. So many conditions of happiness are available-more than enough for you to be happy right now. You don't have to run into the future in order to get more.
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