To be really great in little things, to be truly noble and heroic in the insipid details of everyday life, is a virtue so rare as to be worthy of canonization.
Harriet Beecher StoweRead
I make no manner of doubt that you threw a very diamond of truth at me, though you see it hit me so directly in the face that it wasn't exactly appreciated, at first.
Interpretation
Truth can be harsh and hard to accept, even when it is valuable.
This quote by Harriet Beecher Stowe highlights the idea that sometimes the truth, despite its worth, can be met with resistance or hurt upon first impact. The metaphor of a 'diamond of truth' suggests that while the truth is precious, the way it is delivered may not always be welcomed, and its initial reception can be painful or uncomfortable.
In practice
During a motivational speech about personal growth, one could use this quote to emphasize the importance of accepting constructive criticism.
To be really great in little things, to be truly noble and heroic in the insipid details of everyday life, is a virtue so rare as to be worthy of canonization.
What's your hurry?" Because now is the only time there ever is to do a thing in," said Miss Ophelia.
So much has been said and sung of beautiful young girls, why doesn't somebody wake up to the beauty of old women.
It is generally understood that men don't aspire after the absolute right, but only to do about as well as the rest of the world.
Death! Strange that there should be such a word, and such a thing, and we ever forget it; that one should be living, warm and beautiful, full of hopes, desires and wants, one day, and the next be gone, utterly gone, and forever!
Once, in an age, God sends to some of us a friend who loves in us, not a false imagining, an unreal character, but, looking through all the rubbish of our imperfections, loves in us the divine ideal of our nature, β loves, not the man that we are, but the angel that we may be.
We keep so busy talking we are so keen to act that we forget that in the heart lies all we need untapped, intact.
Life is about balance. Be kind, but donβt let people abuse you. Trust, but donβt be deceived. Be content, but never stop improving yourself.
What do you want to avoid? Such an easy answer: sloth and unreliability. If you're unreliable it doesn't matter what your virtues are. You're going to crater immediately. Doing what you have faithfully engaged to do should be an automatic part of your conduct. You want to avoid sloth and unreliability.
Perhaps there is only one cardinal sin: impatience. Because of impatience we were driven out of Paradise, because of impatience we cannot return.
All the breaks you need in life wait within your imagination.
Through therapy and a lot of thinking and writing my memoirs, I've been able to use my life as a lesson.
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