Caravaggio, The Taking of Christ, 1602

Caravaggio, The Taking of Christ, 1602
Tenebrism

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Interpretations of quotes blog 10

“Do not wait to strike till the iron is hot; but make it hot by striking.”
― W.B. Yeats
This quote is referring to bravery and risk taking. The meaning inspires someone to take a chance instead of waiting for the right moment. When waiting until what might seem like the perfect moment, you could miss an opportunity in a different moment. Take control of a moment and make it yours, don't wait for the moment to control you because when you don't have a say it can't completely be what you want. 
"Be as you wish to seem."
Everyone has a vision of what they imagine themselves to appear as. This quote says to become that imagine. Instead of sitting back and dwelling on what could be, do something about it. Make yourself happy. Be your true self, the self you imagine, the self that satisfies you the most. Why wish you could be/do something when you could do something about it and make that wish come true. Although the "you" is not specific or described, this is how I depicted the message.

"There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self."

-Ernest Hemingway

To try to be better than someone else is not applauded. The most rewarding thing is to always try to improve yourself by referring to your former self. Ask yourself from time to time, "Am i a better person than I was?" No matter how much time has passed in between, someone can always be self improved and to do this very efficiently they must be compared with their own decisions/mistakes/accomplishments. 




2 comments:

  1. I agree that trying to become better at something with the idea of being better than someone else isn't too rewarding. I also really liked the point you made about how there is always room for self improvement. No one really is perfect. Personally, I believe one thing that makes someone so amicable is their ability to strive to improve their own self. By comparing yourself to people and trying to meet that same level of superiority, you are pulling away from who you really are, and instead, are becoming more like the person you're trying to out perform. Constantly comparing and adjusting your lifestyle to be like the person you're trying to be better than is tiring and pointless if you lose your sense of self in the process. Being able to recognize, and self assess the goals you want to obtain for yourself will leave you feeling better once you achieved them, and not because you beat someone else to it. I believe that internal motivation is extremely important, and that it is more notable when someone can achieve something they strive to for the benefit of themselves, rather than to appear superior to their peers. Granted, I also do believe that a little competition can be good for you, instead looking at it as letting the external competition motivate you to become more internally motivated to achieve your goals and aspirations in life.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I meant admirable, not amicable, oops.

    ReplyDelete