I can believe things that are true and I can believe things that aren't true and I can believe things where nobody knows if they're true or not. ... I believe that the greatest poets of the last century were Edith Sitwell and Don Marquis, that jade is dried dragon sperm, and that thousands of years ago in a former life I was a one-armed Siberian shaman. ... I believe that life is a game, that life is a cruel joke, and that life is what happens when you're alive and that you might as well lie back and enjoy it.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- The speaker distinguishes between belief in facts, falsehoods, and uncertainties, concluding with an existential acceptance of life.
- In plain terms
- We can believe anything, so we might as well accept life and enjoy it.
- What can you take from it?
- Embrace uncertainty and find enjoyment in existence.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What do you choose to believe without proof?
- How does uncertainty affect your daily life?
Another view
It treats all beliefs as equally valid regardless of truth.
More from Edith Sitwell
It is a part of the poet's work to show each man what he sees but does not know he sees.
Permalink to quote #42 Her tall figure, swathed in black, looking like some strange eccentric bird... she seemed like an ageing princess come home from exile.
Permalink to quote #44 Small things I handled and caressed and loved. I let the stars assume the whole of night. But the big answers clamoured to be moved Into my life. Their great a…
Permalink to quote #41
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