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
Honesty allows us to live with not knowing. We do not know the full story; we do not know where we are in the story. We do not know who, ultimately, is at fault or who will carry the blame in the end.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Honesty helps us accept uncertainty in life without knowing all the facts.
David Whyte's quote emphasizes the importance of honesty in confronting the complexities of life. It acknowledges our human limitations in understanding the full narrative of our experiences, particularly when it involves uncertainty and moral ambiguity. By embracing honesty, we can navigate through life's unknowns without the burden of needing definitive answers or placing blame.
Themes
HonestyUncertaintyTruthAcceptanceLife
In practice
Example use cases
During a team meeting discussing the challenges faced in a project, this quote may be used to encourage openness about uncertainties.
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
I think humility - which I think is a very good value to adopt - is basically an extension of understanding your own ignorance.
Mark MansonRead
I know black women in Tennessee who have worked all their lives, from the time they were twelve years old to the day they died. These women don't listen to the women's liberation rhetoric because they know that it's nothing but a bunch of white women who had certain life-styles and who want to change those life-styles.
Wilma RudolphRead
I was trying to prove to them and to myself that I was still who I had always been. I was beautiful, if fat. I was smart, if loud. I was good, if ruined.
Alice SeboldRead
On an important decision one rarely has 100% of the information needed for a good decision no matter how much one spends or how long one waits. And, if one waits too long, he has a different problem and has to start all over. This is the terrible dilemma of the hesitant decision maker.
Robert K. GreenleafRead
Your attitude is like the minds paintbrush. It can paint everything in bright, vibrant colors-creating a masterspiece.
John C. MaxwellRead
Chasing meaning is better for your health than trying to avoid discomfort.
Kelly McgonigalRead