A good intention clothes itself with sudden power. When a god wishes to ride, any chip or pebble will bud and shoot out winged feet, and serve him for a horse.
Interpretation
Good intentions can manifest great power, enabling even the simplest things to achieve greatness.
This quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson illustrates the idea that when there is a genuine intention behind an action, the potential for success and transformation becomes immense. It suggests that even the smallest or most insignificant elements can lead to significant outcomes when driven by a strong, positive purpose. The imagery used here emphasizes that the right mindset can turn ordinary circumstances into extraordinary opportunities.
In practice
During a motivational speech about overcoming obstacles, this quote can inspire the audience to believe in the power of their intentions.
It is plain that there is no separate essence called courage, no cup or cell in the brain, no vessel in the heart containing drops or atoms that make or give this virtue; but it is the right or healthy state of every man, when he is free to do that which is constitutional to him to do.
Few people have any next, they live from hand to mouth without a plan, and are always at the end of their line.
Men cease to interest us when we find their limitations
Tis the good reader that makes the good book; a good head cannot read amiss: in every book he finds passages which seem confidences or asides hidden from all else and unmistakeably meant for his ear.
The world belongs to the energetic.
Hast thou named all the birds without a gun?
Christ willed to suffer and be despised and do you dare complain of the same? Christ had adversaries and backbiters; and do you wish to have all men your friends and benefactors? When shall your patience attain her crown if no adversity befalls you? If you are willing to suffer naught that is against you, how will you be the friend of Christ?
Fullness of knowledge always means some understanding of the depths of our ignorance; and that is always conducive to humility and reverence.
Everybody felt his superiority, but nobody felt oppressed by it. Though he had no illusions about people and human affairs, he was full of kindness toward everybody and everything. Never did he give the impression of domineering, always of serving and helping. He was extremely conscientious, without allowing anything to assume undue importance; a subtle humor guarded him, which was reflected in his eyes and in his smile.
Sometimes skulls are thick. Sometimes hearts are vacant. Sometimes words don't work.
We donβt ask why God chose as his prophet a stutterer with a public speaking phobia. But we should. The book of Exodus is short on explication, but its stories suggest that introversion plays yin to the yang of extroversion; that the medium is not always the message; and that people followed Moses because his words were thoughtful, not because he spoke them well.
The secret of a good old age is simply an honorable pact with solitude.
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