We are slow to believe that which if believed would hurt our feelings.
OvidRead
The sharp thorn often produces delicate roses.
Interpretation
Challenges can lead to beautiful outcomes.
This quote suggests that out of hardship or difficulty (represented by the 'sharp thorn'), something beautiful and positive can emerge (symbolized by the 'delicate roses'). It highlights the paradox of life where struggles and pains can ultimately lead to growth and beauty.
In practice
During a presentation on overcoming obstacles, I used this quote to illustrate resilience.
We are slow to believe that which if believed would hurt our feelings.
All things human hang by a slender thread; and that which seemed to stand strong suddenly falls and sinks in ruins.
A new idea is delicate. It can be killed by a sneer or a yawn; it can be stabbed to death by a quip and worried to death by a frown on the right man's brow.
Fas est ab hoste doceri._x000D_ One should learn even from one's enemies.
Be patient and tough; someday this pain will be useful to you.
The end doesn't justify the means.
And every year there is a brief, startling moment _x000D_ When we pause in the middle of a long walk home and _x000D_ Suddenly feel something invisible and weightless _x000D_ Touching our shoulders, sweeping down from the air: _x000D_ It is the autumn wind pressing against our bodies; _x000D_ It is the changing light of fall falling on us.
You can only get really unpopular decisions through if the electorate is convinced of the value of the environment. That's what natural history programmes should be for.
The thing that's made me open my eyes to what was happening to the environment and climate was films and documentaries.
At night I would lie in bed and watch the show, how bees squeezed through the cracks of my bedroom wall and flew circles around the room, making that propeller sound, a high-pitched zzzzzz that hummed along my skin. I watched their wings shining like bits of chrome in the dark and felt the longing build in my chest. The way those bees flew, not even looking for a flower, just flying for the feel of the wind, split my heart down its seam.
If we do not save the environment, then whatever we do in civil rights will be of no meaning, because then we will have the equality of extinction.
It is horrifying that we have to fight our own government to save the environment.
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