Parents and children seldom act in concert:_x000D_ each child endeavors to appropriate_x000D_ the esteem or fondness of the parents,_x000D_ and the parents, with yet less temptation,_x000D_ betray each other to their children.
Interpretation
Family relationships can be complex and often involve competition for affection.
This quote by Samuel Johnson highlights the inherent struggles and discord that can exist within family dynamics, particularly between parents and children. It suggests that children seek their parents' love and approval, often at the expense of sibling relationships, while parents may unintentionally undermine each other in their quest to gain favor with their children. This competition can lead to a lack of unity and harmony within the family unit.
In practice
In a discussion on family dynamics at a psychology conference.
To be of no church is dangerous. Religion, of which the rewards are distant, and which is animated only by faith and hope, will glide by degrees out of the mind unless it be invigorated and reimpressed by external ordinances, by stated calls to worship, and the salutary influence of example.
He that reads and grows no wiser seldom suspects his own deficiency, but complains of hard words and obscure sentences, and asks why books are written which cannot be understood.
To let friendship die away by negligence and silence is certainly not wise. It is voluntarily to throw away one of the greatest comforts of the weary pilgrimage.
Fly-fishing may be a very pleasant amusement; but angling or float fishing I can only compare to a stick and a string, with a worm at one end and a fool at the other.
When any anxiety or gloom of the mind takes hold of you, make it a rule not to publish it by complaining; but exert yourselves to hide it, and by endeavoring to hide it you drive it away.
A fishing rod is a stick with a hook at one end and a fool at the other.
There are three degrees of filial piety. The highest is being a credit to our parents, the second is not disgracing them; the lowest is being able simply to support them.
In my case, I was representing my family name, honor, legacy... I did not see it as a sport requiring winning or losing a game. For me, it was honor, tradition.
For in those tacit understandings which maintain the bond of family union, the mother is really the mistress of her daughter only upon the condition of continually presenting herself to her as a model of wisdom and type of perfection.
The idea of a family sitting round the kitchen table and carefully planning their future family size based on the certainty of years to come is a complete fantasy. Back in the real world, jobs are lost, livelihoods taken away, families break apart, partners leave or pass away.
Almost any American can connect on some level to a family background of having come across some ocean. They say, 'My great-grandparents came from wherever... this is why we have this last name, why we do this thing at Christmas.' All the details get watered down but don't quite disappear.
Whenever I feel like I'm getting too far away from where I need to be, I think about my sons and the legacy I have to leave for them - and it always brings me back to reality.
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