Over time, a commitment to challenging, focused work and leisure produces not only better daily experience, but also a more complex, interesting person: the long-range benefit of the focused life. As Hobbs put it, the secret of fulfillment is "to choose trouble for oneself in the direction of what one would like to become.

Meaning: Constant movement or change can prevent someone from accumulating lasting commitments, resources or attachments. Whether that is a loss or a benefit depends on what the person values.

Meaning: The rhyme presents a spring ague as medicine fit for a king. It gives a feverish illness a surprising positive value rather than simply treating it as misfortune.

Meaning: Good intentions or empty promises do not supply the practical necessities of life. Living by the air pictures trying to manage without real support, drawing attention to resources rather than blaming someone who lacks them.

Meaning: Continuous strain can weaken the capacity to continue. Allow appropriate release or rest rather than expecting a person or arrangement to remain under maximum pressure indefinitely.