The poet is one who is able to keep the fresh vision of the child alive.
Societies in decline have no use for visionaries.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote highlights that declining societies often reject innovative thinkers and their ideas.
Anais Nin's quote reflects the tendency of societies experiencing decline to dismiss or overlook visionaries and their contributions. In such times, those who think differently or challenge the status quo may be seen as impractical or irrelevant, ultimately leading to a stagnation in progress and innovation. This quote serves as a reminder of the importance of embracing visionary ideas, especially during difficult times, to foster renewal and growth within a community.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about societal challenges, one could use this quote to emphasize the importance of innovative thinking.
More from Anais Nin
All quotes βAnxiety is love's greatest killer, because it is like the stranglehold of the drowning.
We celebrate peace. Yet we pay no attention to the ways of curing aggression in human beings. And when one sees in psychoanalysis hostility disappearing as people conquer their fears, one wonders if the cure is not there.
The impetus to grow and live intensely is so powerful in me I cannot resist it. I will work, I will love my husband, but I will fulfill myself.
We have been poisoned by fairy tales.
But I lie. I embellish. My words are not deep enough. They disguise, they conceal. I will not rest until I have told of my descent into a sensuality which was as dark, as magnificent, as wild, as my moments of mystic creation have been dazzling, ecstatic, exalted.
Similar quotes
When reason ends, then anger begins. Therefore, anger is a sign of weakness.
Data is not information, Information is not knowledge, Knowledge is not understanding, Understanding is not wisdom.
If the lecture is good, then everything is too smooth. That's the same in music: if the performance is too good, you really don't enjoy it, because it just goes by, and you can never penetrate into the heart of it. Sometimes a poor performance is better for enjoyment, because you can look at those things that were wrong and analyze them.
Instead of a dedicated room, my best trigger is the actual habit of reading over the texts from the day before. Marking. Changing. Fussing. This ritual amounts to a habit of trust. Trust that I can make it better. That if I keep trying, I will come closer to something true.
What is earnest is not always true; on the contrary error is often more earnest than truth.
I am grateful that my horizons were not narrowed at the outset.