Sometimes a kind of glory lights up the mind of a man. It…
““Sometimes a kind of glory lights up the mind of a man. It happens to nearly everyone. You can feel it growing or preparing like a fuse burning toward dynamite. It is a feeling in the stomach, a delight of the nerves, of the forearms. The skin tastes the air, and every deep-drawn breath is sweet. Its beginning has the pleasure of a great stretching yawn; it flashes in the brain and the whole world glows outside your eyes. A man may have lived all of his life in the gray, and the land and trees of him dark and somber. The events, even the important ones, may have trooped by faceless and pale. And then -the glory- so that a cricket song sweetens his ears, the smell of the earth rises chanting to his nose, and dappling light under a tree blesses his eyes. Then a man pours outward, a torrent of him, and yet he is not diminished. And I guess a man's importance in the world can be measured by the quality and number of his glories. It is a lonely thing but it relates us to the world. It is the mother of all creativeness, and it sets each man separate from all other men. ””
About This Quote
This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.
He describes a sudden, intense feeling of awe that transforms ordinary perception, linking it to personal significance and creative power.
In simple terms: A sudden awe can change how we see the world and ourselves.
Key Takeaway
Embrace moments of awe to unlock creativity.
Themes
awe
creativity
human experience
transcendence
Mood
wonderful
introspective
Type
philosophical
inspirational
When to use this quote
- Artistic creation
- personal breakthroughs
- overcoming monotony
Key Concepts
Aesthetic experience
psychology of inspiration
existential meaning
Questions to Reflect On
- When have you felt a transformative awe?
- How can you channel that feeling into work?
A Different Perspective
Awe can be fleeting and may not lead to sustained action.