Category: the Daily Quote Podcast

Welcome to⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ the Daily Quote⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, the podcast designed to kickstart your day in a positive way. I'm your host, Andrew McGivern, and this episode is brought to you by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠the Great News podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Because great news should be heard, and the link is ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠right here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ in the show notes.

Support the show ➡ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Buy me a coffee ⁠

Today’s quote is attributed to Jeremy Bentham. He lived from 1748 to 1832 and was an English philosopher, jurist and social reformer best known as one of the founders of utilitarianism which is the ethical philosophy centered on maximizing happiness and minimizing suffering.

Jeremy Bentham once said,

“Stretching his hand up to reach the stars, too often man forgets the flowers at his feet.”

This quote will probably hit home for many of us.

There is nothing wrong with having ambition. Goals and objectives can keep us on track for what we truly want out of life. Reaching for the stars is a good thing in that context.

The warning in this quote is that if we become so focused on distant goals we will stop noticing the good things we already have in our lives.

The flowers at our feet are your family, friends, health, nature and the ability to stay present enough to enjoy the ordinary things. Of course the flowers can literally be flowers and if so… don’t forget to get a good wiff.

The danger of focusing too much on the stars is that you may end up saying “I will take the time to enjoy life when I get there”. When I reach the next milestone or hit my big home run. But if you do that you may neglect what you already have and the price of reaching the stars may be too high, if you ever do reach them.

So here’s the question:

What are the “flowers at your feet” that you may be overlooking because you are so focused on reaching the stars?

Remember: You can still reach for the stars as long as you notice the flowers and care for them in the process. In other words, don’t trample the flowers in pursuit of the stars.

That’s going to do it for today. I’m Andrew McGivern signing off for now, but I’ll be back… tomorrow! Same pod time, same pod station with another Daily Quote.