The best poems take long journeys. I like poetry best that journeys--while remaining in the human scale--to the other world, which may be a place as easily overlooked as a bee's wing
Robert BlyRead
Don't go outside your house to see flowers. My friend, don't bother with that excursion. Inside your body there are flowers. One flower has a thousand petals. That will do for a place to sit. Sitting there you will have a glimpse of beauty inside the body and out of it, before gardens and after gardens.
Interpretation
What this quote means
True beauty and wonder exist within ourselves, not just in the external world.
This quote by Robert Bly emphasizes the idea that we often overlook the richness of our own inner experience when seeking beauty and joy in the external world. Instead of searching for fulfillment outside, he suggests that we explore the depths of our own being, where we can find a multitude of layers, much like flowers with many petals, revealing profound beauty both internally and as we interact with the world around us.
Themes
BeautySelf-DiscoveryInner PeacePhilosophyNature
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be used in a mindfulness workshop to encourage participants to look within themselves for happiness.
More from Robert Bly
All quotes →As I've gotten older, I find I am able to be nourished more by sorrow and to distinguish it from depression.
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I am proud only of those days that pass in undivided tenderness.
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My feeling is that poetry is also a healing process, and then when a person tries to write poetry with depth or beauty, he will find himself guided along paths which will heal him, and this is more important, actually, than any of the poetry he writes.
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Every part of you that you do not love will regress and become hostile towards you.
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The door to the soul is unlocked; you do not need to please the doorkeeper, the door in front of you is yours, intended for you, and the doorkeeper obeys when spoken to.
Robert BlyRead
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