To have opinions is to sell out to youself. To have no opinions is to exist. To have every opinion is to be a poet.
Interpretation
The quote suggests that having opinions can lead to a loss of authenticity, while being devoid of them signifies mere existence. Embracing a multitude of opinions is an artistic expression akin to being a poet.
Fernando Pessoa's quote reflects on the nature of opinions and existence. It posits that having fixed opinions can be seen as a form of self-betrayal, as it limits one's potential and depth of thought. In contrast, existing without opinions leads to a passive life, lacking engagement and awareness. The most profound state, according to Pessoa, is that of a poet, who is free to explore and embody a myriad of perspectives, creating meaning and beauty from the complexity of human experience.
In practice
This quote can be shared in a discussion about the value of open-mindedness in creative fields.
I have at this moment so many fundamental thoughts, so many truly metaphysical things to say, that I suddenly get tired and decide not to write any more, not to think any more, but to allow the fever of speaking to make me sleepy, and with my eyes closed, like a cat, I play with everything I could have said.
It's been months since I last wrote. I've lived in a state of mental slumber, leading the life of someone else. I've felt, very often, a vicarious happiness. I haven't existed. I've been someone else. I've lived without thinking.
We all have two lives: The true, the one we dreamed of in childhood And go on dreaming of as adults in a substratum of mist; the false, the one we love when we live with others, the practical, the useful, the one we end up by being put in a coffin.
I'm a man for whom the outside world is an inner Reality.
My dreams are a stupid refuge, like an umbrella against a thunderbolt.
The chill of what I won't feel gnaws at my present heart.
I never relied on my beauty for anything. It was one of those things that was inevitable; you have a bit of philosophy about it. I didn't go into mourning.
There is not a crime, there is not a dodge, there is not a trick, there is not a swindle, there is not a vice which does not live by secrecy.
Thus the right of nullification meant by Mr. Jefferson is the natural right, which all admit to be a remedy against insupportable oppression.
The gradual decline of a society is often a self-induced process of trying to meet ever-expanding appetites, rather than a physical inability to produce past levels of food and fuel, or to maintain adequate defense.
May I not forget that poverty and riches are of the spirit. Though the world knows me not, may my thoughts and actions be such as will keep me friendly with myself.
If I were personally to define religion, I would say that it is a bandage that man has invented to protect a soul made bloody by circustance.
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