Our business in life is not to succeed, but to continue to fail in good spirits.
Robert Louis StevensonRead
Of what shall we be proud of if we are not proud of our friends?
Interpretation
Pride in our friends reflects our values and connections.
This quote by Robert Louis Stevenson suggests that a sense of pride should extend to our friends, as they are reflections of who we are and what we value. If we cannot take pride in those we choose to be close to, it calls into question our own values and character.
In practice
During a speech at a gathering to celebrate friendship.
Our business in life is not to succeed, but to continue to fail in good spirits.
Like a bird singing in the rain, let grateful memories survive in time of sorrow.
That man is a success who has lived well, laughed often and loved much.
His past was fairly blameless; few men could read the rolls of their life with less apprehension; yet he was humbled to the dust by the many ill things he had done, and raised up again into sober and fearful gratitude by the many he had come so near to doing, yet avoided.
The habit of being happy enables one to be freed, or largely freed, from the domination of outward conditions.
It is the history of our kindnesses that alone make this world tolerable. If it were not for that, for the effect of kind words, kind looks, kind letters . . . I should be inclined to think our life a practical jest in the worst possible spirit.
Jo's eyes sparkled, for it's always pleasant to be believed in; and a friend's praise is always sweeter than a dozen newspaper puffs.
How delightful to find a friend in everyone.
God is not so wary as we, else He would give us no friends, lest we forget Him! The charms of the heaven in the bush are superseded, I fear, by the heaven in the hand, occasionally.
The longer we live the more we think and the higher the value we put on friendship and tenderness towards parents and friends.
Without a doubt, my richest relationships are my long-term friendships with musical partners, because we make music together. That's what we love to do with our lives.
Again and again, I learn how much friendship enriches my life, bringing warmth, assurance, humour, inspiration, a sense of security. It depends on honesty, trust, loyalty. It's about giving. It's for sharing the good times, but also the tough times, hurt, grief, sadness.
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