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Sell your cleverness and buy bewilderment. Cleverness is mere opinion. Bewilderment brings intuitive knowledge.
Rumi
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Embrace confusion and uncertainty, as they lead to deeper understanding and insight.

This quote by Rumi invites us to let go of our desire for cleverness and superficial knowledge in favor of a deeper, more profound comprehension of life. Cleverness can lead to mere opinions and judgments, while bewilderment encourages us to remain open and curious, ultimately guiding us toward intuitive knowledge and wisdom. By embracing the unknown, we cultivate a richer, more meaningful experience of existence.

Themes

BewildermentKnowledgeClevernessWisdomCuriosity

In practice

Example use cases

During a workshop on creativity, this quote can inspire participants to embrace uncertainty in their creative processes.

More from Rumi

My dear heart, never think you are better than others. Listen to their sorrows with compassion. If you want peace, don't harbor bad thoughts, do not gossip and don't teach what you do not know.
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The Law of Wonder rules my life at last, _x000D_ ...I burn each second of my life to Love _x000D_ Each second of my life burns out in Love _x000D_ In each leaping second Love lives afresh.
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Lovers have heartaches _x000D_ That can't be cured by drugs _x000D_ Or sleep, _x000D_ Or games, _x000D_ But only by seeing their beloved.
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Every fragile beauty, every perfect forgotten sentence, you grieve their going away, but that is not how it is. Where they come from never goes dry. It is an always flowing spring.
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Whatever you keep hidden in your heart, God _x000D_ manifests in you outwardly. Whatever the root of _x000D_ the tree feeds on in secret, affects the bough and _x000D_ the leaf.
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Come on sweetheart let's adore one another before there is no more of you and me
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