3 T.S. Eliot Quotes That Are Changing The Way I View The World
How my life changed after reading one of the world’s best poets
Until recently, all I knew about T.S. Eliot was that he was a writer — and that a character on NCIS quoted him one time about April being the cruelest month.
Needless to say, I was impressed to discover how influential of a poet he was — and to witness his own influence in my life. Here are a few of his quotes that are transforming my view of the world, and consequentially, the way I live my life:
“Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?”
This quote resonants with my soul in a way no other has. It speaks to me emotionally and intellectually. So often we are caught up in facts and information and we fly past the point.
What good is it if I have all of the facts and information in the world but have no real knowledge of how to live or what my own station is and can be in life?
This quote challenges me to not only consume more pointed and crucial information but to find a way to digest and use it to better my life and that of others — with real knowledge that supersedes the superficial.
“Immature poets imitate; mature poets steal.”
While I can’t remember for certain, I’m pretty sure this is where Austin Kleon, author of Steal Like An Artist got his idea from — and I love it.
I recall the early days of my writing career where I thought that to be a good writer I just had to copy other people.
I sat down to participate in the kids’ version of National Novel Writers’ Month and looked down after a few days and realized I was simply retelling the plot of my favorite Hardy Boys novel.
No one would ever really appreciate my mockery of a good story, and I certainly would have gotten called out for idea stealing if I ever tried to share it with the world.
Now, however, I realize what I should have been doing. Mature writers and poets alike capture the essence of what’s good about a work — and replicate it with their own idea, creating something that adds to a body of work instead of just recreating someone else’s concept.
“Humankind cannot bear very much reality.”
I think this saying can be taken multiple ways. In one way, we are sensitive and concerned creatures that live in a broken world of much evil and problems with seemingly no solutions in sight.
At the same time, I think this quote can also mean that we can only comprehend so much at a time.
We are limited beings, who can only comprehend so much about our environment and the world around us, as well as the breadth of knowledge available to us through various media. Our body was not created to comprehend all of the world, only bits and pieces of it.
I think we do well when we remember both of these interpretations — that we must not overload ourselves with tragedy and become stagnant to do anything about it, while also remembering our limits and focusing on what reality we do want to bear in this life.
What I find most beautiful about all of these lines taken from Eliot is that they all have multiple interpretations and applications to life. I hope you’ve been able to appreciate my own take on them, and are able to go on applying some nugget of wisdom from here to your own path.
Best of luck!
