They say love conquers all_x000D_ You can't start it like a car_x000D_ You can't stop it with a gun.
It took me 10 years to realize that I don't know 'em, 10 years to realize that it's possible to learn them, then another 10 years to learn how to do things.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Understanding and learning can take time, and often requires a personal journey to recognize one's own limitations and potential.
Warren Zevon's quote highlights the long and often arduous journey of self-discovery and personal growth. It reflects on the decade it took him to realize his own ignorance regarding certain aspects of life, followed by another decade spent learning how to navigate those complexities. This statement emphasizes the value of persistence and patience in the process of acquiring knowledge and skills, as true understanding and mastery often come after years of introspection and effort.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about lifelong learning, one might say, 'As Warren Zevon pointed out, it often takes years to truly understand our path.'
More from Warren Zevon
All quotes →To me, the message of my songs, of all songs, is "enjoy life." My message as a person who evidently doens't have much more planned is the same. It's the only message I ever thought art had any business having.
don't let us get sick, don't let us get old, don't let us get stupid, alright? just make us be brave, and make us play nice, and let us be together tonight.
We buy books because we believe we're buying the time to read them.
Well, first of all, let me say that I might have made a tactical error in not going to a physician for 20 years. It was one of those phobias that really didn't pay off.
People write because it seems like it'll be an easier job than carpet laying, that they might meet more girls. And they write because the world strikes them as being a marvelous place, and they want to keep bringing that to everybody's attention. You know ~ a scary place, a menacing place, an exciting place because it's scary and menacing. But mainly, kind of glorious.
Similar quotes
I think that to have known one good, old man-one man, who, through the chances and mischances of a long life, has carried his heart in his hand, like a palm-branch, waving all discords into peace-helps our faith in God, in ourselves, and in each other more than many sermons
All paths lead nowhere, so it is important to choose a path that has heart.
You don't have to preach honesty to men with creative purpose. Let a human being throw the engines of his soul into the making of something, and the instinct of workmanship will take care of his honesty.
In studying the history of the human mind one is impressed again and again by the fact that its growth keeps pace with a widening range of consciousness, and that each step forward is an extremely painful and laborious achievement. One could almost say that nothing is more hateful to man than to give up the smallest particle of unconsciousness. He has a profound fear of the unknown. Ask anybody who has ever tried to introduce new ideas!
All right I think we've been down here in the dark long enough. There's a whole other world upstairs. Take my hand Constant Reader and I'll be happy to lead you back into the sunshine. I'm happy to go there because I believe most people are essentially good. I know that I am. It's you I'm not entirely sure of.
One of the things I did when I discovered this huge importance of being vulnerable is very happily moved away from the shame research, because that's such a downer, and people hate that topic. It's not that vulnerability is the upside, but it's better than shame, I guess.