All is worthwhile if the soul is not small.
Interpretation
Having a grand perspective makes life's experiences valuable.
This quote by Fernando Pessoa emphasizes the importance of having a broad and open-minded outlook. A 'small soul' reflects narrow thinking or limited experiences, while a larger soul appreciates the richness and complexity of life, making every moment and experience worthwhile.
In practice
During a motivational speech, to encourage people to embrace challenges with a greater perspective.
I have at this moment so many fundamental thoughts, so many truly metaphysical things to say, that I suddenly get tired and decide not to write any more, not to think any more, but to allow the fever of speaking to make me sleepy, and with my eyes closed, like a cat, I play with everything I could have said.
It's been months since I last wrote. I've lived in a state of mental slumber, leading the life of someone else. I've felt, very often, a vicarious happiness. I haven't existed. I've been someone else. I've lived without thinking.
We all have two lives: The true, the one we dreamed of in childhood And go on dreaming of as adults in a substratum of mist; the false, the one we love when we live with others, the practical, the useful, the one we end up by being put in a coffin.
I'm a man for whom the outside world is an inner Reality.
My dreams are a stupid refuge, like an umbrella against a thunderbolt.
The chill of what I won't feel gnaws at my present heart.
Study the teachings of the pine tree, the bamboo, and the plum blossom. The pine is evergreen, firmly rooted, and venerable. The bamboo is strong, resilient, unbreakable. The plum blossom is hardy, fragrant, and elegant.
What people in the world think of you is really none of your business.
If we all worked on the assumption that what is accepted as true is really true, there would be little hope of advance.
When the sage points at the moon, all that the idiot sees is the finger.
It is hard to remember that you are a cherished spiritual being when you're burping up apple fritters and Cheetos.
One can't indefinitely do for somebody what he is reluctant to do for himself.
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