November 1, 2025
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Deep Something

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The Great Opportunity Is Where You Are

B. John 1143 Views , ,
This entry is part 8 of 36 in the series Deep Thoughts

The lure of the distant and the difficult is deceptive. The great opportunity is where you are. –John Burroughs

John Burroughs was an American Essayist and amateur naturalist. I think in this quote Burroughs is trying to remind us that its easy to look far away and imagine great deeds we could accomplish, but the important thing is to be in the here and now, and make something of the current situation. Burroughs also said, “The smallest deed is better than the greatest intention.” The idea being that if we are looking too far afield at too great a task, we are more apt to fail that if we take care of the details of what needs done today.

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B. John

B. John Masters writes about democracy, moral responsibility, and everyday Stoicism at deep.mastersfamily.org. A lifelong United Methodist committed to social justice, he explores how faith, ethics, and civic life intersect—and how ordinary people can live out justice, mercy, and truth in public life. A records and information management expert, Masters has lived in the Piedmont,NC, Dayton, OH, Greensboro, NC and Tampa, FL, and is a proud Appalachian State Alum.