Little minds are tamed and subdued by misfortune, but great minds rise above it.
~ Washington Irving
Is this true? Can't you be subdued & also stick it out? Is enduring not (similar to) rising above? If I complain but soldier on, do I have a little or a great mind? Are their no categories between little & great? Why did I even save this quotation? What did I think it meant when I first noticed it? Did I imagine for a moment I was a rise-above type of person? Every time I have a headache or I stub my toe, I think: give up now before life gets even more painful. Yes, I want to die when I suffer for even a moment. I am almost not joking.
~ Washington Irving
Is this true? Can't you be subdued & also stick it out? Is enduring not (similar to) rising above? If I complain but soldier on, do I have a little or a great mind? Are their no categories between little & great? Why did I even save this quotation? What did I think it meant when I first noticed it? Did I imagine for a moment I was a rise-above type of person? Every time I have a headache or I stub my toe, I think: give up now before life gets even more painful. Yes, I want to die when I suffer for even a moment. I am almost not joking.