One human life is deeper than the ocean. Strange fishes and sea-monsters and mighty plants live in the rock-bed of our spirits. The whole of human history is an undiscovered continent deep in our souls. There are dolphins, plants that dream, magic birds inside us. The sky is inside us. The earth is in us.
Politics is the art of the possible; creativity is the art of the impossible.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Politics involves navigating feasible options, while creativity pushes the boundaries of what can be imagined.
This quote highlights the dichotomy between the practical realm of politics and the limitless domain of creativity. Politics requires compromise and negotiation, focusing on achievable solutions within the constraints of societal frameworks. In contrast, creativity embodies the ability to envision and create possibilities that may seem unattainable, emphasizing the importance of imagination and innovation in contrast to the often rigid structures of political decision-making.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the importance of innovative thinking in governance, one might say, 'As Ben Okri wisely noted, politics is the art of the possible; creativity is the art of the impossible.'
More from Ben Okri
All quotes βOur time here is magic! It's the only space you have to realize whatever it is that is beautiful, whatever is true, whatever is great, whatever is potential, whatever is rare, whatever is unique, in. It's the only space.
Don't despair too much if you see beautiful things destroyed, if you see them perish. Because the best things are always growing in secret.
I began my writing life as a poet, so poetry has always been fundamental. I evolved from poetry to journalism to stories to novels. But poetry was always there.
The acknowledged legislators of the world take the world as given. They dislike mysteries, for mysteries cannot be coded, or legislated, and wonder cannot be made into law. And so these legislators police the accepted frontiers of things.
We can still astonish the gods in humanity_x000D_ _x000D_ And be the stuff of future legends,_x000D_ _x000D_ If we but dare to be real,_x000D_ _x000D_ And have the courage to see_x000D_ _x000D_ That this is the time to dream_x000D_ _x000D_ The best dream of them all.
Similar quotes
Yup, the whole birther movement was racist.
Now you have people in Washington who have no interest in the country at all. They're interested in their companies, their corporations grabbing Caspian oil.
Transparency concerning the Federal Reserve's conduct of monetary policy is desirable because better public understanding enhances the effectiveness of policy. More important, however, is that transparent communications reflect the Federal Reserve's commitment to accountability within our democratic system of government.
An invisible empire has been set up above the forms of Democracy
The necessity of a senate is not less indicated by the propensity of all single and numerous assemblies, to yield to the impulse of sudden and violent passions, and to be seduced by factious leaders, into intemperate and pernicious resolutions.
Minorities within nation-states frayed by global capitalism are naturally more resentful of hollowed-out but still heavily centralised systems of political and economic domination.