For the most part we allow only outlying and transient circumstances to make our occasions. They are, in fact, the cause of our distraction.
Henry David ThoreauI fear that he who walks over these fields a century hence will not know the pleasure of knocking off wild apples. Ah, poor man, there are many pleasures which he will not know!
Henry David ThoreauIf we will be quiet and ready enough, we shall find compensation in every disappointment.
Henry David ThoreauDid you ever hear of a man who had striven all his life faithfully and singly towards an object, and in no measure obtained it? If a man constantly aspires, is he not elevated? Did ever a man try heroism, magnanimity, truth, sincerity, and find that there was no advantage in them,--that it was a vain endeavor?
Henry David Thoreau