Alas, how easily things go wrong! A sigh too much, a kiss too long And there follows a mist and a weeping rain And life is never the same again
George MacdonaldRead
Let me, if I may, be ever welcomed to my room in winter by a glowing hearth, in summer by a vase of flowers. If I may not, let me think how nice they would be and bury myself in my work. I do not think that the road to contentment lies in despising what we have not got. Let us acknowledge all good, all delight that the worlds holds, and be content without it.
Interpretation
What this quote means
True contentment comes from appreciating what we have rather than longing for what we lack.
In this quote, George Macdonald expresses the idea that happiness and contentment are found not in the pursuit of unattainable desires, but in the enjoyment and acknowledgment of the simple pleasures in life, such as warmth in winter and beauty in summer. He emphasizes that instead of lamenting what we do not possess, we should cultivate gratitude for the experiences and joys available to us, allowing our work to become a means of fulfillment.
Themes
ContentmentGratitudeAppreciationHappinessJoy
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a motivational speech about finding happiness in everyday life.
More from George Macdonald
All quotes →It is not in the nature of politics that the best men should be elected. The best men do not want to govern their fellowmen.
George MacdonaldRead
He may delay because it would not be safe to give us at once what we ask: we are not ready for it. To give ere we could truly receive, would be to destroy the very heart and hope of prayer, to cease to be our Father. The delay itself may work to bring us nearer to our help, to increase the desire, perfect the prayer, and ripen the receptive condition.
George MacdonaldRead
When I can no more stir my soul to move, and life is but the ashes of a fire; when I can but remember that my heart once used to live and love, long and aspire- O, be thou then the first, the one thou art; be thou the calling, before all answering love, and in me wake hope, fear, boundless desire.
George MacdonaldRead
But words are vain; reject them all— They utter but a feeble part: Hear thou the depths from which they call, The voiceless longing of my heart.
George MacdonaldRead
Few delights can equal the presence of one whom we trust utterly.
George MacdonaldRead
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