I have a dream

[j4]

Still on the subject of dreams:

I finally found the quote (I knew I'd written it down somewhere) that best expresses what my "dream" is, what "success" means to me -- or rather, what it means when I'm actually honest with myself about what I think matters, when I don't allow myself to be made to feel useless by richer, cleverer, or just plain louder people:

"To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded."

-- Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)

Comments

[bopeepsheep.livejournal.com]

That's it exactly!

That's lovely - what's it from? Or is it just one of those aphorisms that don't actually come from anything in particular?

[j4.livejournal.com]

I don't actually know where it's from, I just found it while looking for something else ages ago... But I went to have a look for it, and mostly just found it in lists of quotes (sometimes even lists of Emerson's "quotes", as if he only wrote quotes...). I also found a page (http://www.transcendentalists.com/success.htm) which suggested that the attribution was inaccurate, which given the total lack of citations seems increasingly likely. I also can't find it in Literature Online (although we have quite a lot of Emerson's works, which I may read later if I get bored...).

Ah well. If anybody can shed any light on its origins, I'd be delighted; but I still like the sentiment even if it was written by some complete unknown for a greetings-card or a twee little poster with pictures of flowers, rabbits, and/or footprints. :)