The true secret of giving advice is, after you have honestly given it, to be perfectly indifferent whether it is taken or not, and never persist in trying to set people right.
Henry Ward BeecherRead
Every tomorrow has two handles. We can take hold of it with the handle of anxiety or the handle of faith. We should live for the future, and yet should find our life in the fidelities of the present; the last is only the method of the first.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the choice between approaching the future with anxiety or faith.
Henry Ward Beecher's quote reflects on the duality of how we can perceive and approach the future. It suggests that while tomorrow brings uncertainty, we have the power to choose our mindset: we can either grip it with anxiety, which can paralyze and hinder our present, or with faith, which allows us to embrace possibilities. Furthermore, Beecher encourages us to remain grounded in the present, as our present actions and attitudes shape our future experiences.
Themes
FutureFaithAnxietyPresentChoice
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech about overcoming challenges.
More from Henry Ward Beecher
All quotes →A man who cannot get angry is like a stream that cannot overflow, that is always turbid. Sometimes indignation is as good as a thunderstorm in summer, clearing and cooling the air.
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No one can deal with the hearts of men unless he has the sympathy which is given by love.
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We are always on the anvil; by trials God is shaping us for higher things.
Henry Ward BeecherRead
No man can tell if he is rich or poor by turning to his ledger. It is the heart that makes a man rich. He is rich according to what he is, not according to what he has.
Henry Ward BeecherRead
There are joys which long to be ours. God sends ten thousands truths, which come about us like birds seeking inlet; but we are shut up to them, and so they bring us nothing, but sit and sing awhile upon the roof, and then fly away.
Henry Ward BeecherRead
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