--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The secret of seeing is to sail on solar…" description: "\"“The secret of seeing is to sail on solar wind.”\" — Annie Dillard" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a54/annie-dillard-509_sail_the-secret-of-seeing-is-to-sail-on-solar_270103.jpg" --- # The secret of seeing is to sail on solar wind. ![“The secret of seeing is to sail on solar wind.” quote by Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a54/annie-dillard-509_sail_the-secret-of-seeing-is-to-sail-on-solar_270103.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a54/annie-dillard-509_sail_the-secret-of-seeing-is-to-sail-on-solar_270103.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a54/annie-dillard-509_sail_the-secret-of-seeing-is-to-sail-on-solar_270103.jpg) > ““The secret of seeing is to sail on solar wind.”” [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Seeing beyond the obvious requires imagination and openness to unseen forces. **In simple terms:** Seeing requires imagination. Key Takeaway Cultivate curiosity, look beyond the surface. Themes perception creativity exploration Mood inspired contemplative Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - artistic inspiration - scientific observation - spiritual practice Key Concepts philosophy nature writing Questions to Reflect On - What “solar wind” fuels your imagination? - How do you notice hidden patterns? A Different Perspective Not everyone can grasp abstract concepts without concrete experience. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [“I cannot cause light; the most I can do is try to put myself in the path of its beam. It is possible, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/i-cannot-cause-light-the-most-i-can-do-is-try-to-put-myself-in-the-2/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [I cannot cause light; the most I can do is try to put myself in the path of its beam. It is possible, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/i-cannot-cause-light-the-most-i-can-do-is-try-to-put-myself-in-the/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [“The secret of seeing is, then the pearl of great price. If I thought he could teach me to find it and keep it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/the-secret-of-seeing-is-then-the-pearl-of-great-price-if-i-thought-he/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [Neither solar nor wind are actually substitutes for coal or natural gas or oil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shellenberger/neither-solar-nor-wind-are-actually-substitutes-for-coal-or-natural/) [Michael Shellenberger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shellenberger/) > [I'm proud of the fact that I thought of the solar wind. It was an exercise in pursuing curiosity, which is the main motivation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-parker/i-m-proud-of-the-fact-that-i-thought-of-the-solar-wind-it-was-an/) [Eugene Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-parker/) > [The two most abundant forms of power on earth are solar and wind, and they're getting cheaper and cheaper...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-begley-jr/the-two-most-abundant-forms-of-power-on-earth-are-solar-and-wind-and/) [Ed Begley, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-begley-jr/) > [The solar probe is going to a region of space that has never been explored before. It's very exciting that we'll finally get a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-parker/the-solar-probe-is-going-to-a-region-of-space-that-has-never-been/) [Eugene Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-parker/) > [“The solar wind carried the ejection straight to the Earth’s magnetic field, where it penetrated the upper atmosphere and cut through it like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sansbury-smith/the-solar-wind-carried-the-ejection-straight-to-the-earth-s-magnetic/) Nicholas Sansbury Smith > [Both solar and wind produce too much energy when societies don't need it, and not enough when they do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shellenberger/both-solar-and-wind-produce-too-much-energy-when-societies-don-t-need/) [Michael Shellenberger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shellenberger/) > [It is quite right what they say: the three most beautiful sights in the world are a ship in full sail, a galloping horse,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/it-is-quite-right-what-they-say-the-three-most-beautiful-sights-in/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [“Ships at a distance have every man's wish on board. For some they come in with the tide. For others they sail forever on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zora-neale-hurston/ships-at-a-distance-have-every-man-s-wish-on-board-for-some-they-come/) [Zora Neale Hurston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zora-neale-hurston/) > [You know how this is: if I look at the crystal moon, at the red branch of the slow autumn at my window, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/you-know-how-this-is-if-i-look-at-the-crystal-moon-at-the-red-branch/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [Sometimes a party must sail against the wind. We cannot heed the call of those who say it is time to furl the sail.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-kennedy/sometimes-a-party-must-sail-against-the-wind-we-cannot-heed-the-call/) [Edward Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-kennedy/) > [Throughout our history, the words of the Declaration have inspired immigrants from around the world to set sail to our shores. These immigrants have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/throughout-our-history-the-words-of-the-declaration-have-inspired/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) ## More by Annie Dillard > [Like everyone in his right mind, I feared Santa Claus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/like-everyone-in-his-right-mind-i-feared-santa-claus/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [“This is a spendthrift economy; though nothing is lost, all is spent.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/this-is-a-spendthrift-economy-though-nothing-is-lost-all-is-spent/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [The creatures I seek do not want to be seen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/the-creatures-i-seek-do-not-want-to-be-seen/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [Nothing moves a woman so deeply as the boyhood of the man she loves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/nothing-moves-a-woman-so-deeply-as-the-boyhood-of-the-man-she-loves/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [We live in all we seek. The hidden shows up in too-plain sight. It lives captive on the face of the obvious - the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/we-live-in-all-we-seek-the-hidden-shows-up-in-too-plain-sight-it/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [“...The mockingbird took a single step into the air and dropped. His wings were still folded against his sides as though he were singing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/the-mockingbird-took-a-single-step-into-the-air-and-dropped-his-wings/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [“Father had stretched out his long legs and was tilting back in his chair. Mother sat with her knees crossed, in blue slacks, smoking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/father-had-stretched-out-his-long-legs-and-was-tilting-back-in-his/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [I am a frayed and nibbled survivor in a fallen world, and I am getting along. I am aging and eaten and have done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/i-am-a-frayed-and-nibbled-survivor-in-a-fallen-world-and-i-am-getting/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [It should surprise no one that the life of the writer - such as it is - is colorless to the point of sensory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/it-should-surprise-no-one-that-the-life-of-the-writer-such-as-it-is/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [It is madness to wear ladies' straw hats and velvet hats to church; we should all be wearing crash helmets. Ushers should issue life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/it-is-madness-to-wear-ladies-straw-hats-and-velvet-hats-to-church-we/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [The sense impressions of one-celled animals are not edited for the brain. This is philosophically interesting in a rather mournful way, since it means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/the-sense-impressions-of-one-celled-animals-are-not-edited-for-the/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [“What can we make of the inexpressible joy of children? It is a kind of gratitude, I think—the gratitude of the ten-year-old who wakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/what-can-we-make-of-the-inexpressible-joy-of-children-it-is-a-kind-of/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [“If we were to judge nature by its common sense or likelihood, we wouldn't believe the world existed. In nature, improbabilities are the one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/if-we-were-to-judge-nature-by-its-common-sense-or-likelihood-we/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [For writing a first draft requires from the writer a peculiar internal state which ordinary life does not induce. ... how to set yourself spinning?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/for-writing-a-first-draft-requires-from-the-writer-a-peculiar/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [I am a fugitive and a vagabond, a sojourner seeking signs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/i-am-a-fugitive-and-a-vagabond-a-sojourner-seeking-signs/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) [Explore all 509 Annie Dillard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) ## More Sail quotes > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Throughout our history, the words of the Declaration have inspired immigrants from around the world to set sail to our shores. These immigrants have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/throughout-our-history-the-words-of-the-declaration-have-inspired/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [Sometimes a party must sail against the wind. We cannot heed the call of those who say it is time to furl the sail.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-kennedy/sometimes-a-party-must-sail-against-the-wind-we-cannot-heed-the-call/) [Edward Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-kennedy/) > [You know how this is: if I look at the crystal moon, at the red branch of the slow autumn at my window, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/you-know-how-this-is-if-i-look-at-the-crystal-moon-at-the-red-branch/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [“Ships at a distance have every man's wish on board. For some they come in with the tide. For others they sail forever on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zora-neale-hurston/ships-at-a-distance-have-every-man-s-wish-on-board-for-some-they-come/) [Zora Neale Hurston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zora-neale-hurston/) > [It is quite right what they say: the three most beautiful sights in the world are a ship in full sail, a galloping horse,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/it-is-quite-right-what-they-say-the-three-most-beautiful-sights-in/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [And he misses her Like a wind starved sail He sits knowing what direction to go But the current keeps pulling him Down river.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/and-he-misses-her-like-a-wind-starved-sail-he-sits-knowing-what/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [Up anchor! Up anchor! Set sail and away! The ventures of dreamland Are thine for a day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/silas-weir-mitchell/up-anchor-up-anchor-set-sail-and-away-the-ventures-of-dreamland-are/) [Silas Weir Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/silas-weir-mitchell/) > [O friend, never strike sail to a fear! Come into port greatly, or sail with God the seas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/o-friend-never-strike-sail-to-a-fear-come-into-port-greatly-or-sail/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [I am driven out of fatherlands and motherlands. Thus I now love only my children's land, yet undiscovered, in the farthest sea; for this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/i-am-driven-out-of-fatherlands-and-motherlands-thus-i-now-love-only/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“Where we sail and anchor our heart fill up the multitude odyssey paving to the coming home of our soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angelica-hopes/where-we-sail-and-anchor-our-heart-fill-up-the-multitude-odyssey/) [Angelica Hopes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angelica-hopes/) > [Hoist the sails of your own spirit to catch the winds of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-washington-sockman/hoist-the-sails-of-your-own-spirit-to-catch-the-winds-of-god/) [Ralph Washington Sockman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-washington-sockman/) > [This is a modern fairytale. No happy endings. No wind in our sails. But I can't imagine a life without. Breathless moments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/selena-gomez/this-is-a-modern-fairytale-no-happy-endings-no-wind-in-our-sails-but/) [Selena Gomez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/selena-gomez/) > [Winds flap the sail, tortoise and snake are silent, a great plan looms. A bridge will fly over this moat dug by heaven and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mao-zedong/winds-flap-the-sail-tortoise-and-snake-are-silent-a-great-plan-looms/) [Mao Zedong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mao-zedong/) > [The goal is not to sail the boat, but rather to help the boat sail herself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rousmaniere/the-goal-is-not-to-sail-the-boat-but-rather-to-help-the-boat-sail/) John Rousmaniere Browse all 756 Sail quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The secret of seeing is to sail on solar wind.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Annie Dillard" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/the-secret-of-seeing-is-to-sail-on-solar-wind/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Sail" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/the-secret-of-seeing-is-to-sail-on-solar-wind/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a54/annie-dillard-509_sail_the-secret-of-seeing-is-to-sail-on-solar_270103.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a54/annie-dillard-509_sail_the-secret-of-seeing-is-to-sail-on-solar_270103.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a54/annie-dillard-509_sail_the-secret-of-seeing-is-to-sail-on-solar_270103.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The secret of seeing is to sail on solar wind.” — Annie Dillard", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Annie Dillard", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The secret of seeing is to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/the-secret-of-seeing-is-to-sail-on-solar-wind/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/the-secret-of-seeing-is-to-sail-on-solar-wind/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```