There is nothing, Sir, too little for so little a creature as man. It is by studying little things that we attain the great art of having as little misery and as much happiness as possible.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the importance of appreciating small things to achieve happiness and reduce suffering.
Samuel Johnson's quote highlights the idea that humans, despite their small stature in the grand scheme of the universe, should focus on life's smaller aspects. By paying attention to the details and nuances of our experiences, we can cultivate a life that minimizes grief and maximizes joy, suggesting that true happiness comes from valuing the little things around us.
In practice
During a motivational speech about finding joy, one could use this quote to illustrate the value of small moments.
To be of no church is dangerous. Religion, of which the rewards are distant, and which is animated only by faith and hope, will glide by degrees out of the mind unless it be invigorated and reimpressed by external ordinances, by stated calls to worship, and the salutary influence of example.
He that reads and grows no wiser seldom suspects his own deficiency, but complains of hard words and obscure sentences, and asks why books are written which cannot be understood.
To let friendship die away by negligence and silence is certainly not wise. It is voluntarily to throw away one of the greatest comforts of the weary pilgrimage.
Fly-fishing may be a very pleasant amusement; but angling or float fishing I can only compare to a stick and a string, with a worm at one end and a fool at the other.
When any anxiety or gloom of the mind takes hold of you, make it a rule not to publish it by complaining; but exert yourselves to hide it, and by endeavoring to hide it you drive it away.
A fishing rod is a stick with a hook at one end and a fool at the other.
Of all that is good, sublimity is supreme. Succeeding is the coming together of all that is beautiful. Furtherance is the agreement of all that is just. Perseverance is the foundation of all actions.
God in his wisdom, to make and keep us humble and to teach us to walk by faith, has hidden from us almost everything that we should like to know about the providential purposes which he is working out in the churches and in our own lives.
The hard and stiff will be broken. _x000D_ The soft and supple will prevail.
People may refuse to see the truth of our arguments, but they cannot evade the evidence of a holy life.
Problems do not go away. They must be worked through or else they remain, forever a barrier to the growth and development of the spirit.
Shortly after I met my mentor he asked me, ‘Mr. Rohn, how much money have you saved and invested over the last six years?’ And I said, ‘None.’ He then asked, ‘Who sold you on that plan?’
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