I'd rather have two good friends, than 500,000 admirers.
my mind is a big hunk of irrevocable nothing which touch and taste and smell and hearing and sight keep hitting and chipping with sharp fatal tools in an agony of sensual chisels i perform squirms of chrome and ex -ecute strides of cobalt nevertheless i feel that i cleverly am being altered that i slightly am becoming something a little different, in fact myself hereupon helpless i utter lilac shrieks and scarlet bellowings
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on the transformative nature of sensory experiences and the struggle of self-identity amidst chaos.
E. E. Cummings' quote delves into the complexity of human consciousness and identity. It portrays the mind as a battleground where the rich sensations of life—touch, taste, smell, hearing, and sight—interact with an otherwise empty mental state, leading to an evolution of the self. The vivid imagery of 'chipping with sharp fatal tools' suggests that these experiences are both painful and transformative, contributing to a profound yet tumultuous sense of becoming. Ultimately, it captures the essence of how our experiences shape and alter us, even when we feel overwhelmed and helpless.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion on personal growth, one might say, 'As E. E. Cummings reminds us, our experiences are shaping us every moment.'
More from E. E. Cummings
All quotes →I'd rather learn from one bird how to sing than to teach ten thousand stars how not to dance.
It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.
When god decided to invent everything he took one reath bigger than a circustent and everything began
The Artist is no other than he who unlearns what he has learned, in order to know himself.
Nobody else can be alive for you; nor can you be alive for anybody else.
Similar quotes
When there came a sound that I'd never heard the like of in all my born days. Eh, I won't forget that. The whole air was full of it, loud as thunder but far longer, cool and sweet as music over water but strong enough to shake the woods. And I said to myself, 'If that's not the Horn, call me a rabbit.
A rat in a maze is free to go anywhere, as long as it stays inside the maze.
I do not like Moscow life. You live here not as you want to live, but as old women want you to.
To rest the case for equal treatment of national or racial minorities on the assumption that they do not differ from other men is implicitly to admit that factual inequality would justify unequal treatment, and the proof that some differences do, in fact, exist would not be long in forthcoming. It is of the essence of the demand for equality before the law that people should be treated alike in spite of the fact that they are different.
Truth is mysterious, elusive, always to be conquered. Liberty is dangerous, as hard to live with as it is elating. We must march toward these two goals, painfully but resolutely, certain in advance of our failings on so long a road.
We have bodies. We have personalities. We have histories, stories and experiences. But we are not those things - we are Spirit.