Brave men rejoice in adversity, just as brave soldiers triumph in war.
Lucius Annaeus SenecaRead
When we are well, we all have good advice for those who are ill.
Interpretation
Healthy individuals often provide advice to those who are unwell, yet they may not fully understand the challenges faced by the sick.
This quote by Seneca highlights a common human tendency where those who are not experiencing hardship feel confident in giving advice to those who are. It serves as a reminder of the importance of empathy and understanding the struggles of others, especially when one's own situation is stable. Genuine compassion and support are more valuable than mere words of advice.
In practice
A speaker at a health seminar discussing the importance of compassion for those dealing with illness.
Brave men rejoice in adversity, just as brave soldiers triumph in war.
Everything is the product of one universal creative effort. There is nothing dead in Nature. Everything is organic and living, and therefore the whole world appears to be a living organism.
The things hardest to bear are sweetest to remember.
A kingdom founded on injustice never lasts.
True happiness is... to enjoy the present, without anxious dependence upon the future.
A well governed appetite is the greater part of liberty.
You can do one of two things; just shut up, which is something I don't find easy, or learn an awful lot very fast, which is what I tried to do.
Everyone should be taught the nobility of labor, the heroism and splendor of honest effort. As long as it is considered disgraceful to labor, or aristocratic not to labor, the world will be filled with idleness and crime, and with every possible moral deformity.
Suffering has been stronger than all other teaching, and has taught me to understand what your heart used to be. I have been bent and broken, but - I hope - into a better shape.
In many shamanic societies, if you came to a medicine person complaining of being disheartened, dispirited, or depressed, they would ask one of four questions: 'When did you stop dancing? When did you stop singing? When did you stop being enchanted by stories? When did you stop being comforted by the sweet territory of silence?'
Time goes by, reputation increases, ability declines.
Meditation is not a matter of trying to achieve ecstasy, spiritual bliss, or tranquillity, nor is it attempting to become a better person. It is simply the creation of a space in which we are able to expose and undo our neurotic games, our self-deceptions, our hidden fears and hopes.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.