The 5 Best Phrases Of John Locke
John Locke’s quotes invite us to reflect and discover great teachings that can be applied in our daily lives. The majority of these quotes are part of his works and will not leave us indifferent.
John Locke was an important British thinker who was born in 1632 and died in 1704. Although he majored in medicine, he stood out for his writings and his studies in political philosophy.
Locke had a multidisciplinary vision. While it is true that he is known for what we have already mentioned, it should also be noted that he was a teacher, economist, theologian, diplomat and writer. But that’s not all. Locke was one of the representatives of British empiricism.
In this article, we’re going to focus on John Locke’s best quotes, ones he said or could be picked up from his writings. Sentences full of wisdom that are worth remembering.
Concern as a control mechanism
This is one of John Locke’s first sentences that we felt was important, not for the meaning behind it but because this teaching is being repeated in important ways in the news. However, we did not know that someone had already tried to transmit it at a later time.
Everything that preoccupies us controls us, for one simple reason: preoccupations are a series of thoughts going in circles, with no way out. Beliefs that we feed with fears, doubts and expectations. If we don’t stop thinking about them, they get bigger and bigger.
When we don’t let go of what is on our mind, anxiety arises. However, a Chinese proverb gives us the solution to prevent concerns from controlling us:
The important work of parents
The second sentence of John Locke that we have collected is for parents, who have great power in their hands. However, this sentence constitutes a criticism of a fact that occurs almost daily. Parents who complain about having rebellious children or children who got lost along the way because they did not integrate the values they thought they had transmitted to them …
In the news, for example, many parents complain about their children who are addicted to laptops or computers. However, these complaints denote a lack of responsibility on the part of all these progenitors who use video games, tablets or any other technological object so that children are more peaceful.
It is true that time flies very quickly but you have to know how to prioritize the important things. Sometimes our responsibilities can make education beyond us. Even so, we cannot forget that children will grow up and interact with other people; in other words, they will build relationships and parents have a responsibility to educate them well.
If they are educated on the basis of “here, play, so that you won’t be bored” or “I don’t have time”, children can become addicted to a screen. Where has this absolutely essential quality time gone? How can parents serve as an example to their children if they become addicted to their phones? They are the ones who guided them in this process. They who poisoned the fountain.
Happiness and the spirit
John Locke’s third sentence tells us about that happiness that every human being desires but that the majority seek in the least adequate places. Perhaps this is because we consider happiness to depend on circumstances, as John Locke puts it.
If we are fired from our jobs, we cannot be happy; if we don’t find a mate, we cannot be happy; if we don’t have children, we cannot be happy; if we don’t have enough money, we can’t be happy… The big question is: who said all this?
The beliefs that we hold in our mind condition us so much that we have placed undue importance on what happens on the outside, without prioritizing our inside. With new perspectives and different ways of looking at things, one can realize that there is no real reason to be unhappy.
The desire to be like the others
This fourth sentence by John Locke undoubtedly contains a great criticism which worked in its time but which is still applicable today. All people are different. However, there is a tendency to want to be like other people, to lose authenticity and to be approved by other people.
This desire for approval, to belong to a group, makes us lose our own identity. Anything that makes us different shames us because we take the judgments and criticisms of others to be true.
Instead of feeling proud when someone points out our difference in thoughts or ways of seeing things, when we judge our habits, we are ashamed of it all. As the previous sentence rightly said, we believe that happiness depends on circumstances, on the outside. This is why we turn into chameleons, sacrificing our own essence.
The value of the effort
Who wants to be rich? If we were in a room, a lot of hands would go up. However, wealth can have very distinct sources. This last quote from John Locke points out above all that wealth is the product of work, effort and perseverance.
If we don’t persist, we will get discouraged at the first mistake and we will want to go back and lose everything we have achieved so far. If we don’t make an effort, what we do will not bear fruit. It is necessary to work to achieve what we want. Doing this will make us rich.
We can be rich in money, in health, in knowledge… Rich because we do what we like, because our life gives us well-being… Rich because we have friends and a family who love us. There are many ways we can be rich, but there is effort and work behind each one, along with perseverance and a determined attitude.
These five quotes from John Locke allow us to realize that, even as the years and centuries go by, great thinkers still try to open our eyes to the same things. What if it’s time to move forward a little further? When will these phrases cease to be advice and become ways of living?
Our thoughts The power of words is priceless. Thanks to them, you can experience endless feelings. Discover 6 sentences that will make you think …
