The way to see what looks good and understand the reasons it looks good, and to be at one with this goodness as the work proceeds, is to cultivate an inner quietness, a peace of mind so that goodness can shine through.
Robert M. PirsigRead
(What makes his world so hard to see clearly is not its strangeness but its usualness).Familiarity can blind you too.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Familiarity with the ordinary can obscure our understanding of the world.
This quote by Robert M. Pirsig suggests that what often makes our perception of the world unclear is not its oddities or strangeness, but rather the mundane and everyday aspects we take for granted. When we become overly accustomed to our surroundings, we may fail to see their true nature and significance, highlighting the idea that familiarity can lead to a kind of blindness that prevents deeper appreciation and understanding.
Themes
FamiliarityPerceptionBlindnessUnderstandingOrdinary
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about why we overlook simple joys in life, this quote can serve as a reminder.
More from Robert M. Pirsig
All quotes βWhen analytic thought, the knife, is applied to experience, something is always killed in the process.
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The Buddha resides as comfortably in the circuits of a digital computer or the gears of a cycle transmission as he does at the top of a mountain.
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It's better not to see than to see wrongly.
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The truth knocks on the door and you say, go away, I'm looking for the truth, and it goes away. Puzzling.
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You want to know how to paint a perfect painting? It's easy. Make yourself perfect and then just paint naturally.
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