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.
Free will I have often heard of, but I have never seen it. I have always met with will, and plenty of it, but it has either been led captive by sin or held in the blessed bonds of grace.
I hear much of people's calling out to punish the guilty, but very few are concerned to clear the innocent.
It is easy to think of potatoes, and fortunately for men who have not much money it is easy to think of them with a certain safety. Potatoes are one of the last things to disappear, in times of war, which is probably why they should not be forgotten in times of peace.
The Kingdom of God is not a matter of getting individuals to heaven, but of transforming the life on earth into the harmony of heaven.
We havent really paid much attention to thought as a process. we have engaged in thoughts, but we have only paid attention to the content, not to the process.
The resistance to the unpleasant situation is the root of suffering.
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