Kahlil GibranHe who wears his morality but as his best garment were better naked. The wind and the sun will tear no holes in his skin.
About This Quote
He who wears his morality but as his best garment were better naked.The wind and the sun will tear no holes in his skin. He who wears his morality as a garment is at all times conscious of its weight and feels the want of ease and repose which it confers. To such a man, no pleasure equals that of doing wrong without fear of punishment; and he who does good with an eye to reward seldom does it with heart; for he looks upon it as another obligation, and another encumbrance to be borne, and this he would lay aside as soon as possible. He therefore sacrifices his own happiness for the public good, though he does it unwillingly; and is often constrained by the pressure of necessity to do what he most abhors; yet when necessity ceases, he is most apt to repent of such acts. These words by the ancient Greek philosopher Epictetus make us think about what is truly important in life. He says that we should not be concerned about what we have or have not accomplished, but instead, look on our lives as a journey.
This journey will take us on a path that may not always be smooth or perfectly paved, but one day we will look back on our life and see that we have evolved into better people because we have been forced to face our fears and have been made stronger because of those experiences. It seems so strange now to think about how many bad things can happen to us during our lifetime—we can lose loved ones, suffer from diseases or injuries, experience financial hardship—yet how many times do we choose to stand up again? We go through the whole process again until we find ourselves standing once more on solid ground with a new outlook on life.
Source: The Prophet
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