The tighter you squeeze, the less you have.
Interpretation
Attempting to control or hold onto something too tightly can lead to losing it entirely.
This quote by Thomas Merton highlights the paradox that comes with trying to control or possess things too aggressively. It suggests that when we are overly constrictive and forceful in our pursuits, whether it be in relationships, goals, or material possessions, we may actually end up causing the very thing we desire to slip away from us. It serves as a reminder to approach life with a sense of openness and flexibility, rather than rigid control.
In practice
During a team meeting, you might say, 'Remember, the tighter you squeeze, the less you have' when discussing project management.
The devil is no fool. He can get people feeling about heaven the way they ought to feel about hell. He can make them fear the means of grace the way they do not fear sin. And he does so, not by light but by obscurity, not by realities but by shadows; not by clarity and substance, but by dreams and the creatures of psychosis. And men are so poor in intellect that a few cold chills down their spine will be enough to keep them from ever finding out the truth about anything.
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Conscience is the light by which we interpret the will of God in our own lives.
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But if you want to identify me, ask me not where I live, or what I like to eat, or how I comb my hair, but ask me what I think I am living for.
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Comparing oneself with one's fellow writers is a bad idea. I would not review a fellow writer unless I had something terribly positive to say.
I like the spirit of this great London which I feel around me. Who but a coward would pass his whole life in hamlets; and for ever abandon his faculties to the eating rust of obscurity?
I understand the law through the operation of which my own character is developed from my own acts and thoughts; therefore, I will guard with care all that goes into its development.
Attend with Diligence and strict Integrity to the Interest of your Correspondents and enter into no Engagements which you have not the almost certain Means of performing.
It is wisest to be impartial. If you have health, but are attached to it, you will always be afraid of losing it. And if you fear that loss, but become ill, you will suffer. Why not remain forever joyful in the Self?
Prejudice and self-sufficiency naturally proceed from inexperience of the world, and ignorance of mankind.
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