We are slow to believe that which if believed would hurt our feelings.
OvidRead
Minds that are ill at ease are agitated by both hope and fear.
Interpretation
Unsettled minds experience turmoil from their hopes and fears.
This quote by Ovid reflects on the human condition, emphasizing how uncertainty breeds anxiety. When our minds are not at peace, we find ourselves caught in a cycle of longing for what we hope for and dreading what we fear, highlighting the mental struggles we face as we navigate our desires and anxieties.
In practice
In a motivational speech about mental health, one could use this quote to illustrate the impact of our emotions.
We are slow to believe that which if believed would hurt our feelings.
All things human hang by a slender thread; and that which seemed to stand strong suddenly falls and sinks in ruins.
A new idea is delicate. It can be killed by a sneer or a yawn; it can be stabbed to death by a quip and worried to death by a frown on the right man's brow.
Fas est ab hoste doceri._x000D_ One should learn even from one's enemies.
Be patient and tough; someday this pain will be useful to you.
The end doesn't justify the means.
How we experience memory sometimes, it's not linear. We're not telling the stories to ourselves. We know the story; we're just seeing it in flashes overlaid.
At the heart of the matter is a battle between wish and fear. Fear generally proves stronger than a wish, but it leaves a taste of disappointment on the tongue.
The measure of charity may be taken from the want of desires. As desires diminish in the soul, charity increases in it; and when it no longer feels any desire, then it possesses perfect charity.
We should realize in a vivid and revolutionary sense that we are not in our bodies but our bodies are in us.
Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.
In a Transtromer poem, you inhabit space differently; a body becomes a thing, a mind floats, things have lives, and even non-things, even concepts, are alive.
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