Can anything be sadder than work left unfinished? Yes, work never begun.
Interpretation
The quote conveys that neglecting to start a task is even more regrettable than leaving it incomplete.
Christina Rossetti's quote emphasizes the importance of taking initiative and beginning endeavors, as the greatest sorrow lies not in failure to complete tasks, but in never starting them at all. It highlights the value of action and the potential regrets of unfulfilled opportunities that come from inaction.
In practice
This quote can be shared in a motivational speech to inspire collaboration in a project.
When I am dead, my dearest, Sing no sad songs for me; Plant thou no roses at my head, Nor shady cypress tree: Be the green grass above me With showers and dewdrops wet: And if thou wilt, remember, And if thou wilt, forget. I shall not see the shadows, I shall not feel the rain; I shall not hear the nightingale Sing on as if in pain: And dreaming through the twilight That doth not rise nor set, Haply I may remember, And haply I may forget.
We must not look at goblin men, We must not buy their fruits: Who knows upon what soil they fed Their hungry thirsty roots?
To her whose heart is my heart's quiet home,_x000D_ _x000D_ To my first Love, my Mother, on whose knee_x000D_ _x000D_ I learnt love-lore that is not troublesome.
Yet come to me in dreams, that I may live My very life again though cold in death; Come back to me in dreams, that I may give Pulse for pulse, breath for breath: Speak low, lean low, As long ago, my love, how long ago
Lie still, lie still, my breaking heart; My silent heart, lie still and break: Life, and the world, and mine own self, are changed For a dream's sake.
I lock my door upon myself, And bar them out; but who shall wall Self from myself, most loathed of all?
A little neglect may breed great mischief. ... For want of a nail, the shoe was lost; for want of a shoe, the horse was lost; for want of a horse, the battle was lost; for want of the battle, the war was lost.
Why should I dislike anything about my appearance? I came off the factory line this way. I am perfect.
Fear your admirers! Learn in time to hear, understand, and love the cruel truth about yourselves!
One paradox of professional writing is that books written solely for money and/or acclaim will almost never be good enough to garner either.
Both tolerance and respect are empty virtues until we actually understand whatever it is we are supposed to be tolerating or respecting.
The pain is what you make of it. You have to find something in it that yields. I understood my guiding imperative as: keep bleeding, but find some love in the blood.
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