As honour, love, obedience, troops of friends, / I must not look to have; but, in their stead, / Curses, not loud but deep, mouth-honour, breath, / Which the poor heart would fain deny, and dare not" (5.3.25-28).
William ShakespeareRead
We suffer a lot the few things we lack and we enjoy too little the many things we have.
Interpretation
The quote highlights the tendency to focus on what we don't have rather than appreciating our current blessings.
William Shakespeare's quote reflects on human nature, pointing out that we often dwell on our deficiencies instead of recognizing the abundance around us. This mindset can lead to unnecessary suffering as we forget to enjoy the many positives in our lives. It serves as a reminder to cultivate gratitude and shift our perspective towards appreciation.
In practice
In a speech about mental health, one might use this quote to encourage mindfulness and gratitude.
As honour, love, obedience, troops of friends, / I must not look to have; but, in their stead, / Curses, not loud but deep, mouth-honour, breath, / Which the poor heart would fain deny, and dare not" (5.3.25-28).
Love bears it out even to the edge of doom.
Good company, good wine, good welcome, can make good people.
Absence doth sharpen love, presence strengthens it; the one brings fuel, the other blows it till it burns clear.
Lord, Lord, how this world is given to lying!
Give it an understanding, but no tongue.
Habit is the nursery of errors.
If you are insulted, if you are accused, if they gossip about you, don't say anything bad. Don't be the one who sees the shame, be the one who corrects it.
What is interesting and important happens mostly in secret, in places where there is no power. Nothing much of lasting value ever happens at the head table, held together by a familiar rhetoric. Those who already have power continue to glide along the familiar rut they have made for themselves.
Begin challenging your own assumptions. Your assumptions are your windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in awhile, or the light won't come in.
The heart breaks and breaks and lives by breaking it is necessary to go through dark and deeper dark and not to turn
Through effort you will cross any raging flood, through energy you will pass any sorrow.
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