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
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.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Anger, when expressed appropriately, can have a cleansing effect, much like a thunderstorm clears the air.
In this quote, Henry Ward Beecher suggests that anger is a natural and necessary emotion for humans. He compares a man who cannot express anger to a non-flowing stream, indicating that suppressed emotions can lead to internal turbulence. Just as a thunderstorm refreshes and clears the atmosphere, expressing indignation can cleanse one's spirit and provide clarity in challenging situations.
Themes
AngerEmotionsIndignationCleansingWisdom
In practice
Example use cases
During a team meeting, if someone feels frustrated about an unresolved issue, they might quote this to encourage openness about expressing feelings.
More from Henry Ward Beecher
All quotes →No one can deal with the hearts of men unless he has the sympathy which is given by love.
Henry Ward BeecherRead
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
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.
Henry Ward BeecherRead
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