The reason why men do not obey us, is because they see the mud at the bottom of our eye.
Interpretation
People are often reluctant to follow others when they perceive their flaws or imperfections.
This quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson suggests that individuals may struggle to earn respect and obedience due to their visible imperfections or vulnerabilities. The metaphor of 'mud at the bottom of our eye' implies that when others can see our faults, it undermines our authority and diminishes the trust they place in us, making it difficult for them to follow our lead.
In practice
In a team meeting to encourage open communication and trust.
It is plain that there is no separate essence called courage, no cup or cell in the brain, no vessel in the heart containing drops or atoms that make or give this virtue; but it is the right or healthy state of every man, when he is free to do that which is constitutional to him to do.
Few people have any next, they live from hand to mouth without a plan, and are always at the end of their line.
Men cease to interest us when we find their limitations
Tis the good reader that makes the good book; a good head cannot read amiss: in every book he finds passages which seem confidences or asides hidden from all else and unmistakeably meant for his ear.
The world belongs to the energetic.
Hast thou named all the birds without a gun?
True tolerance is not a total lack of judgment. It's knowing what should be tolerated, and refusing to tolerate that which shouldn't.
I'm interested in exploring how an individual maintains a sense of power in a world that tends to make individuals feel powerless.
People lose fifty million skin cells every day. The cells get scraped off and turn into invisible dust, and disappear into the air. Maybe we are nothing but skin cells as far as the world is concerned.
The deepest hunger in life is a secret that is revealed only when a person is willing to unlock a hidden part of the self. In the ancient traditions of wisdom, this quest has been likened to diving for the most precious pearl in existence, a poetic way of saying that you have to swim far out beyond shallow waters, plunge deep into yourself, and search patiently until the pearl beyond price is found.
Poor intricated soul! Riddling, perplexed, labyrinthical soul!
Power is a trick. It lies where we believe it lies.
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