The earth has grown old with its burden of care, But at Christmas it always is young.
Phillips BrooksRead
Much as we deplore our condition in life, nothing would make us more satisfied with it than the changing of places, for a few days, with our neighbors.
Interpretation
What this quote means
We often dislike our own lives but may appreciate them more if we experience another's life.
This quote by Phillips Brooks suggests that while we may often find fault with our own circumstances, a temporary exchange of life experiences with our neighbors could lead to greater satisfaction. It highlights the tendency of individuals to undervalue their own situations while romanticizing those of others, promoting the idea that gaining perspective through comparison can enhance our appreciation for what we have.
Themes
SatisfactionPerspectiveComparisonLifeContentment
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about appreciating our lives, you might use this quote to encourage gratitude.
More from Phillips Brooks
All quotes βWe never become truly spiritual by sitting down and wishing to become so. You must undertake something so great that you cannot accomplish it unaided.
Phillips BrooksRead
The truest help we can render an afflicted man is not to take his burden from him, but to call out his best energy, that he may be able to bear the burden.
Phillips BrooksRead
To believe in the God over us and around us and not in the God within us - that would be a powerless and fruitless faith.
Phillips BrooksRead
To say, 'well done' to any bit of good work is to take hold of the powers which have made the effort and strengthen them beyond our knowledge.
Phillips BrooksRead
Think of life as a voyage. The truest liver of the truest life is like a voyager who, as he sails, is not indifferent to all the beauty of the sea around him.
Phillips BrooksRead
Similar quotes
Nobody gets argued all the way into becoming a believer on the sheer basis of logic and reason. That requires a leap of faith.
Francis CollinsRead
Morality is the herd-instinct in the individual.
Friedrich NietzscheRead
Lots of people think, well, we're humans; we're the most intelligent and accomplished species; we're in charge. Bacteria may have a different outlook: more bacteria live and work in one linear centimeter of your lower colon than all the humans who have ever lived. That's what's going on in your digestive tract right now. Are we in charge, or are we simply hosts for bacteria? It all depends on your outlook.
Neil Degrasse TysonRead
So what is the difference between someone who willfully indulges in sexual pleasures while ignoring the Bible on moral purity and someone who willfully indulges in the selfish pursuit of more and more material possessions while ignoring the Bible on caring for the poor? The difference is that one involves a social taboo in the church and the other involves the social norm in the church.
David PlattRead
Our books will bear witness for or against us, our books reflect who we are and who we have been, our books hold the share of pages granted to us from the Book of Life. By the books we call ours we will be judged
Alberto ManguelRead
A man can eat his dinner without understanding exactly how food nourishes him. A man can accept what Christ has done without knowing how it works: indeed, he certainly would not know how it works until he has accepted it.
C. S. LewisRead