Every one of our greatest national treasures, our liberty, enterprise, vitality, wealth, military power, global authority, flow from a surprising source: our ability to give thanks.
We want lives of simple, predictable ease-smooth, even trails as far as the eye can see-but God likes to go off-road.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote suggests that while people desire comfort and stability, life's unpredictable nature often leads to unexpected challenges.
Tony Snow's quote reflects the human tendency to seek a life of simplicity and predictability, desiring a path that is smooth and straightforward. However, it also acknowledges that the divine or the larger forces at play often lead us into uncharted territory, challenging our comfort zones and encouraging growth through life's complexities. This contrast highlights the importance of embracing the unexpected instead of resisting it, as those off-road experiences may lead to profound personal development.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
During a motivational speech about embracing life's challenges.
More from Tony Snow
All quotes βVoting is a right best exercised by people who have taken time to learn about the issues.
In many cases, a bout with sickness stretches your soul, opens your eyes, and introduces you to a world of unimagined grandeur, possibility and joy.
The secret of learning to be sick is this: Illness doesn't make you less of what you were. You are still you.
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Our destiny and ultimate fate depend upon our daily decisions. . . .Tomorrow's joy or tomorrow's despair has its roots in decisions we make today. . . . Those who stand at the threshold of life always waiting for the right time to change are like the man who stands at the bank of a river waiting for the water to pass so he can cross on dry land.
She felt so old, so worn out, so far away from the best moments of her life that she even yearned for those that she remembered as the worst⦠Her heart of compressed ash, which had resisted the most telling blows of daily reality without strain, fell apart with the first waves of nostalgia. The need to feel sad was becoming a vice as the years eroded her. She became human in her solitude.
It was so much fun to have the freedom to wander America, with no assignments. For 25 or 30 years I never had an assignment. These were all stories I wanted to do myself.
We're a lukewarm people for all our feast days and hard work. Not much touches us, but we long to be touched. We lie awake at night willing the darkness to part and show us a vision. Our children frighten us in their intimacy, but we make sure they grow up like us. Lukewarm like us. On a night like this, hands and faces hot, we can believe that tomorrow will show us angels in jars and that the well-known woods will suddenly reveal another path.
I have long understood that losing always comes with the territory when you wander into the gambling business, just as getting crippled for life is an acceptable risk in the linebacker business. They both are extremely violent sports, and pain is part of the bargain. Buy the ticket, take the ride.
The world is not a wish-granting factory.