--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For though we often need to be restored…" description: "\"For though we often need to be restored to the small, concrete, limited, and certain, we as often need to be reminded of the large, vague, unlimited, u..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddb/a-r-ammons-19072_certain_for-though-we-often-need-to-be-restored_1063711.jpg" --- # For though we often need to be restored to the small… ![“For though we often need to be restored to the small, concrete, limited, and certain, we as often need to be reminded of the large, vague, unlimited, unknown” quote by A. R. Ammons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddb/a-r-ammons-19072_certain_for-though-we-often-need-to-be-restored_1063711.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddb/a-r-ammons-19072_certain_for-though-we-often-need-to-be-restored_1063711.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddb/a-r-ammons-19072_certain_for-though-we-often-need-to-be-restored_1063711.jpg) > “For though we often need to be restored to the small, concrete, limited, and certain, we as often need to be reminded of the large, vague, unlimited, unknown” [A. R. Ammons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-r-ammons/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Balancing concrete certainty with expansive possibility nurtures a full, adaptable perspective. **In simple terms:** Mix specifics with imagination. Key Takeaway Seek both detail and wonder. Themes balance uncertainty creativity philosophy Mood contemplative inquisitive Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - problem solving - artistic creation - strategic planning - personal reflection Key Concepts cognitive flexibility existential thought Questions to Reflect On - How do you ground big ideas? - When do you need concrete facts? A Different Perspective Focusing too much on the vague can cause indecision. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Certain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certain/) [Certain Need](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certain-need-2610032/) [Concrete](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concrete/) [Limited Certain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/limited-certain-2613072/) [Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/) [Reminded Large](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reminded-large-2613070/) [Restored Small](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/restored-small-2613069/) [Small Concrete](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/small-concrete-2613071/) [Unlimited](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unlimited/) [Vague](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vague/) ## Related quotes > [“No matter how bleak and black her existence became, the familiar sight of the moon restored something within her, small as it was—like tiny…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shona-moyce/no-matter-how-bleak-and-black-her-existence-became-the-familiar-sight/) [Shona Moyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shona-moyce/) > [I have brought a PS2 on set with me before. But games can be really addicting, and that's dangerous. So I tend to keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-slater/i-have-brought-a-ps2-on-set-with-me-before-but-games-can-be-really/) [Christian Slater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-slater/) > [I am certain that we need a solution completely separate from military intervention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/silvio-berlusconi/i-am-certain-that-we-need-a-solution-completely-separate-from/) [Silvio Berlusconi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/silvio-berlusconi/) > [I am now almost certain that we need more radiation for better health.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cameron/i-am-now-almost-certain-that-we-need-more-radiation-for-better-health/) [John Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cameron/) > [Movies are something people see all over the world because there is a certain need for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wim-wenders/movies-are-something-people-see-all-over-the-world-because-there-is-a/) [Wim Wenders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wim-wenders/) > [If we ask a vague question, such as, 'What is poetry?' we expect a vague answer, such as, 'Poetry is the music of words,'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-r-ammons/if-we-ask-a-vague-question-such-as-what-is-poetry-we-expect-a-vague/) [A. R. Ammons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-r-ammons/) > [Problems are often stated in vague terms... because it is quite uncertain what the problems really are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-von-neumann/problems-are-often-stated-in-vague-terms-because-it-is-quite/) [John von Neumann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-von-neumann/) > [The love of God is not something vague or generic; the love of God has a name and a face: Jesus Christ.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/the-love-of-god-is-not-something-vague-or-generic-the-love-of-god-has/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [The camera has an interest in turning history into spectacle, but none in reversing the process. 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It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/i-am-far-from-any-intention-to-limit-curiosity-or-confine-the-labours/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [“Spiritual activity, education, civilization, culture, the idea are all vague, indefinite concepts, under the banner of which it is quite convenient to use words…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/spiritual-activity-education-civilization-culture-the-idea-are-all/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“I had a vague memory of the intensity of teenage female relationships; more of a passion than a normal friendship.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jojo-moyes/i-had-a-vague-memory-of-the-intensity-of-teenage-female-relationships/) [Jojo Moyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jojo-moyes/) > [Many early-stage entrepreneurs make one simple mistake: Describing this 'big picture' in vague concepts and words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunil-nagaraj/many-early-stage-entrepreneurs-make-one-simple-mistake-describing/) [Sunil Nagaraj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunil-nagaraj/) ## More by A. R. Ammons > [A poem generated by its own laws may be unrealized and bad in terms of so-called objective principles of taste, judgement, deduction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-r-ammons/a-poem-generated-by-its-own-laws-may-be-unrealized-and-bad-in-terms/) [A. R. Ammons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-r-ammons/) > [In nature there are few sharp lines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-r-ammons/in-nature-there-are-few-sharp-lines/) [A. R. Ammons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-r-ammons/) > [With the first step, the number of shapes the walk might take is infinite, but then the walk begins to define itself as it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-r-ammons/with-the-first-step-the-number-of-shapes-the-walk-might-take-is/) [A. R. Ammons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-r-ammons/) > [Attend to mushrooms and all other things will answer up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-r-ammons/attend-to-mushrooms-and-all-other-things-will-answer-up/) [A. R. Ammons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-r-ammons/) > [The poet exposes himself to the risk. All that has been said about poetry, all that he has learned about poetry, is only a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-r-ammons/the-poet-exposes-himself-to-the-risk-all-that-has-been-said-about/) [A. R. Ammons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-r-ammons/) > [I have reached no conclusions, have erected no boundaries, shutting out and shutting in, separating inside from outside: I have drawn no lines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-r-ammons/i-have-reached-no-conclusions-have-erected-no-boundaries-shutting-out/) [A. R. Ammons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-r-ammons/) > [The wonderful workings of the world: wonderful, wonderful: I'm surprised half the time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-r-ammons/the-wonderful-workings-of-the-world-wonderful-wonderful-i-m-surprised/) [A. R. Ammons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-r-ammons/) > [Though I have looked everywhere / I can find nothing lowly / in the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-r-ammons/though-i-have-looked-everywhere-i-can-find-nothing-lowly-in-the/) [A. R. Ammons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-r-ammons/) > [Definition, rationality, and structure are ways of seeing, but they become prisons when they blank out other ways of seeing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-r-ammons/definition-rationality-and-structure-are-ways-of-seeing-but-they/) [A. R. Ammons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-r-ammons/) > [You have your identity when you find out, not what you can keep your mind ON, but what you can't keep your mind OFF.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-r-ammons/you-have-your-identity-when-you-find-out-not-what-you-can-keep-your/) [A. R. Ammons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-r-ammons/) > [Questions structure and, so, to some extent predetermine answers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-r-ammons/questions-structure-and-so-to-some-extent-predetermine-answers/) [A. R. Ammons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-r-ammons/) > [Everything is discursive opinion instead of direct experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-r-ammons/everything-is-discursive-opinion-instead-of-direct-experience/) [A. R. Ammons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-r-ammons/) > [Even if you walk exactly the same route each time - as with a sonnet - the events along the route cannot be imagined…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-r-ammons/even-if-you-walk-exactly-the-same-route-each-time-as-with-a-sonnet/) [A. R. 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