Poetry is a street fighter. It has sharp elbows. It can look after itself. Poetry can't be used for manipulation; it's why you never see good poetry in advertising.
David WhyteRead
Desire demands only a constant attention to the unknown gravitational field which surrounds us and from which we can recharge ourselves every moment, as if breathing from the atmosphere of possibility itself. A life’s work is not a series of stepping-stones onto which we calmly place our feet, but more like an ocean crossing where there is no path, only a heading, a direction, which, of itself, is in conversation with the elements.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Desire fuels our potential and creativity, guiding us through life's uncertainties.
David Whyte's quote illustrates the idea that desire is a powerful force that requires our attention and focus on the possibilities around us. It suggests that life is not simply a straightforward journey with clear steps, but rather a complex navigation through the unknown, where our aspirations and direction interact with the challenges of existence, much like sailing an ocean without a defined path but with a sense of purpose and intention.
Themes
DesirePossibilityDestinationJourneyLifeDirectionUncertainty
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech about following one's dreams.
More from David Whyte
All quotes →Poetry is often the art of overhearing yourself say things you didn't know you knew. It is a learned skill to force yourself to articulate your life, your present world or your possibilities for the future.
David WhyteRead
By definition, poetry works with qualities and dynamics that mainstream society is reluctant to face head-on. It's an interesting phenomenon that by necessity, poetry is just below the radar.
David WhyteRead
The price of our vitality is the sum of all our fears
David WhyteRead
The severest test of work today, is not of our strategies, but of our imaginations and identities.
David WhyteRead
We learn, grow and become compassionate and generous as much through exile as homecoming, as much through loss as gain, as much through giving things away as in receiving what we believe to be our due.
David WhyteRead
Similar quotes
The Declaration of Independence . . . [is the] declaratory charter of our rights, and the rights of man.
Thomas JeffersonRead
Everyone seems to have a clear idea of how other people should lead their lives, but none about his or her own.
Paulo CoelhoRead
Therefore another prologue must tell he is not a lion
William ShakespeareRead
The truly great man is he who would master no one, and who would be mastered by none.
Khalil GibranRead
We're all inseparably part of each other. We all coexist in each other.
Deepak ChopraRead
My selective memory of what drinking was like told me that standing at the bar in a pub, on a summer's evening with a long, tall glass of lager and lime was heaven, and I chose not to remember the nights on which I had sat with a bottle of vodka, a gram of coke and a shotgun, contemplating suicide.
Eric ClaptonRead