Nothing raises the price of a blessing like its removal; whereas, it was its continuance which should have taught us its value. [It is wise to be grateful of what we have while we have it.]
Interpretation
We often realize the value of blessings only when they are gone.
This quote suggests that the true value of our blessings becomes apparent when we experience their absence. Instead of taking our blessings for granted, we should appreciate and express gratitude for them while they remain in our lives, as this recognition enhances our overall well-being and satisfaction.
In practice
In a speech about the importance of family, one could quote this to emphasize the need for appreciation.
Recently I have been working in the country, where, carving in the open air, I find sculpture more natural than in a London studio, but it needs bigger dimensions. A large piece of stone or wood placed almost anywhere at random in a field, orchard, or garden, immediately looks right and inspiring.
I find in all the artists that I admire most a disturbing element, a distortion, giving evidence of a struggle . . . . In great art, this conflict is hidden, it is unresolved. All that is bursting with energy is disturbing - not perfect.
Between beauty of expression and power of expression there is a difference of function. The first aims at pleasing the senses, the second has a spiritual vitality which for me is more moving and goes deeper than the senses.
A work can have in it a pent-up energy, an intense life of its own, independent of the subject it may represent.
I have always liked drawing, when you draw you see things more intensely.
The secret of life is to have a task, something you devote your entire life to, something you bring everything to, every minute of the day for the rest of your life. And the most important thing is, it must be something you cannot possibly do.
Poverty with security is better than plenty in the midst of fear and uncertainty.
A psychologist said to me, there are only two important questions you have to ask yourself. What do you really feel? And, what do you really want? If you can answer those two, you probably can leave your neuroses behind you.
Yeah, I read history. But it doesn't make you nice. Hitler read history, too.
Background checks will never stop every criminal from getting their hands on a gun and every single act of gun violence - but the evidence is clear that it's the single most effective policy to help keep guns out of dangerous hands and save lives.
I think mental illness or madness can be an escape also. People don't develop a mental illness because they are in the happiest of situations, usually. One doctor observed that it was rare when people were rich to become schizophrenic. If they were poor or didn't have too much money, then it was more likely.
The great gift of human beings is that we have the power of empathy.
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