---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: All that matters is that the thing be the…"
description: "\"All that matters is that the thing be the thing of the thing.\" — Charles Olson"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56f/charles-olson-11645_funny_all-that-matters-is-that-the-thing-be-th_583796.jpg"
---

#  All that matters is that the thing be the thing of the…

![“All that matters is that the thing be the thing of the thing.” quote by Charles Olson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56f/charles-olson-11645_funny_all-that-matters-is-that-the-thing-be-th_583796.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56f/charles-olson-11645_funny_all-that-matters-is-that-the-thing-be-th_583796.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56f/charles-olson-11645_funny_all-that-matters-is-that-the-thing-be-th_583796.jpg)

> “All that matters is that the thing be the thing of the thing.”

[Charles Olson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-olson/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The essential point is that the thing must be true to its own nature, not merely a copy or abstraction.

**In simple terms:** Authenticity matters most.

Key Takeaway

Stay true to the core.

Themes

authenticity essence creativity

Mood

contemplative critical

Type

philosophical literary

When to use this quote

- artistic creation
- philosophical inquiry
- design process

Key Concepts

self‑reference meta‑concepts purity

Questions to Reflect On

- When is imitation useful?
- How do we balance originality with functionality?

A Different Perspective

Pure authenticity can be limiting in practical contexts.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Funny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/)

## Related quotes

> [Only one thing matters, one thing; to be able to dare!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoevsky/only-one-thing-matters-one-thing-to-be-able-to-dare/)

[Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoevsky/)

> [The only thing that matters is here and the only thing that matters is now. And America's inability to delay gratification is because we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/the-only-thing-that-matters-is-here-and-the-only-thing-that-matters/)

[Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/)

> [Know what really matters to you because not every thing is worth doing, even when you have the right to do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/know-what-really-matters-to-you-because-not-every-thing-is-worth/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“Angel: If nothing we do in this world matters, then the only thing that matters is what we do.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-minear/angel-if-nothing-we-do-in-this-world-matters-then-the-only-thing-that/)

[Tim Minear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-minear/)

> [You said we do it together,you said that we can't control the future but no matter happens, the only thing that matters, the only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simphiwe-scientist-dumi/you-said-we-do-it-together-you-said-that-we-can-t-control-the-future/)

[Simphiwe Scientist Dumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simphiwe-scientist-dumi/)

> [“One thing? One thing I like? Okay.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/one-thing-one-thing-i-like-okay/)

[J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/)

> [“Fear will do one thing and one thing only: hold you back”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kya-aliana/fear-will-do-one-thing-and-one-thing-only-hold-you-back/)

Kya Aliana

> [Sometimes the only thing to do is to take the thing that you must have. Even if someone gets hurt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/sometimes-the-only-thing-to-do-is-to-take-the-thing-that-you-must/)

[Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/)

> [Equality, equality, equality. I'm all about equality, that's the main thing and the only thing I'm about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cupcakke/equality-equality-equality-i-m-all-about-equality-that-s-the-main/)

[Cupcakke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cupcakke/)

> [Life isn't one thing after another, it's the same thing over and over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-st-vincent-millay/life-isn-t-one-thing-after-another-it-s-the-same-thing-over-and-over/)

[Edna St. Vincent Millay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-st-vincent-millay/)

> [“They say one thing and another thing and both at once;”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-fry/they-say-one-thing-and-another-thing-and-both-at-once/)

[Christopher Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-fry/)

> [The story is the first thing and the last thing,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-rockwell/the-story-is-the-first-thing-and-the-last-thing/)

[Norman Rockwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-rockwell/)

> [A thing is a thing, not what is said of that thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/a-thing-is-a-thing-not-what-is-said-of-that-thing/)

[Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/)

> [The celebrity thing is such a thing in itself now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chrissie-hynde/the-celebrity-thing-is-such-a-thing-in-itself-now/)

[Chrissie Hynde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chrissie-hynde/)

> [“I do my thing, and you do your thing. I am not in this world to live up to your expectations, and you are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fritz-perls/i-do-my-thing-and-you-do-your-thing-i-am-not-in-this-world-to-live-up/)

Fritz Perls

## More by Charles Olson

> [“this is the abstract, this is the cold doing, this is the almost impossible”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-olson/this-is-the-abstract-this-is-the-cold-doing-this-is-the-almost/)

[Charles Olson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-olson/)

> [There are no hierarchies, no infinite, no such many as mass, there are only/ eyes in all heads,/ to be looked out of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-olson/there-are-no-hierarchies-no-infinite-no-such-many-as-mass-there-are/)

[Charles Olson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-olson/)

> [Forgive me if I sleep until I wake up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-olson/forgive-me-if-i-sleep-until-i-wake-up/)

[Charles Olson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-olson/)

> [by night only crazy things like the full moon and the whippoorwill and us, are busy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-olson/by-night-only-crazy-things-like-the-full-moon-and-the-whippoorwill/)

[Charles Olson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-olson/)

> [“Objectivism is the getting rid of the lyrical interference of the individual as ego, of the “subject” and his soul, that peculiar presumption by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-olson/objectivism-is-the-getting-rid-of-the-lyrical-interference-of-the/)

[Charles Olson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-olson/)

> [I defer to all these other American poets who, for some reason, I both envy and admire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-olson/i-defer-to-all-these-other-american-poets-who-for-some-reason-i-both/)

[Charles Olson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-olson/)

> [I was playing catch with the European audience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-olson/i-was-playing-catch-with-the-european-audience/)

[Charles Olson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-olson/)

> [“If he stays inside himself, if he is contained within his nature as he is participant in the larger force, he will be able…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-olson/if-he-stays-inside-himself-if-he-is-contained-within-his-nature-as-he/)

[Charles Olson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-olson/)

> [This morning of the small snow I count the blessings, the leak in the faucet which makes of the sink time, the drop of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-olson/this-morning-of-the-small-snow-i-count-the-blessings-the-leak-in-the/)

[Charles Olson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-olson/)

> [bees dig the plum blossoms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-olson/bees-dig-the-plum-blossoms/)

[Charles Olson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-olson/)

> [I'm one of the cliches that has grown up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-olson/i-m-one-of-the-cliches-that-has-grown-up/)

[Charles Olson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-olson/)

> [The body whips the soul. In its great desire it demands the elixir In the roar of spring, transmutations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-olson/the-body-whips-the-soul-in-its-great-desire-it-demands-the-elixir-in/)

[Charles Olson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-olson/)

> [“the soul is / proprioceptive”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-olson/the-soul-is-proprioceptive/)

[Charles Olson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-olson/)

> [You can do anything, really. And that, l think, is one of the exciting possibilities of the present, l swear, is the possibility that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-olson/you-can-do-anything-really-and-that-l-think-is-one-of-the-exciting/)

[Charles Olson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-olson/)

> [We all want what's been suddenly disallowed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-olson/we-all-want-what-s-been-suddenly-disallowed/)

[Charles Olson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-olson/)

[Explore all 58 Charles Olson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-olson/)

## More Funny quotes

> [You cant be controlling in improv.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-walsh/you-cant-be-controlling-in-improv/)

[Matt Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-walsh/)

> [When you step out and do a song in a musical, the easier thing to do is make it funny. But when those transitions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelli-o-hara/when-you-step-out-and-do-a-song-in-a-musical-the-easier-thing-to-do/)

[Kelli O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelli-o-hara/)

> [Joking about violence is not funny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/perez-hilton/joking-about-violence-is-not-funny/)

[Perez Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/perez-hilton/)

> [It's a hard thing to describe. It's just this sense that you got something to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-lehrer/it-s-a-hard-thing-to-describe-it-s-just-this-sense-that-you-got/)

[Jonah Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-lehrer/)

> [God reveals Himself through surprises.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/god-reveals-himself-through-surprises/)

[Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/)

> [Sometimes I look at my awesome twitter followers &amp; think to myself, What the hell would I do without them :)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/sometimes-i-look-at-my-awesome-twitter-followers-think-to-myself-what/)

[Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/)

> [The happy have whole days,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colley-cibber/the-happy-have-whole-days/)

[Colley Cibber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colley-cibber/)

> [Congratulations to Facebook on going public with all my private information...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/congratulations-to-facebook-on-going-public-with-all-my-private/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Why are things as they are and not otherwise?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johannes-kepler/why-are-things-as-they-are-and-not-otherwise/)

[Johannes Kepler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johannes-kepler/)

> [I've been funny my whole life. This is a gift God gave me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-morgan/i-ve-been-funny-my-whole-life-this-is-a-gift-god-gave-me/)

[Tracy Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-morgan/)

> [Penis goes in , sperms cums out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/penis-goes-in-sperms-cums-out/)

[Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/)

> [If you were to send a werewolf to the moon, would he be a werewolf permanently?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-schaal/if-you-were-to-send-a-werewolf-to-the-moon-would-he-be-a-werewolf/)

[Kristen Schaal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-schaal/)

> [When you have a choice, choose happy!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pancho-barnes/when-you-have-a-choice-choose-happy/)

Pancho Barnes

> [If you can connect people, you can create the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-heiferman/if-you-can-connect-people-you-can-create-the-future/)

[Scott Heiferman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-heiferman/)

> [Don't think OF the market. Think AS the market.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-fishman/don-t-think-of-the-market-think-as-the-market/)

Michael Fishman

[Browse all 39,858 Funny quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "All that matters is that the thing be the thing of the thing.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Charles Olson"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-olson/all-that-matters-is-that-the-thing-be-the-thing-of-the-thing/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Funny"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-olson/all-that-matters-is-that-the-thing-be-the-thing-of-the-thing/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56f/charles-olson-11645_funny_all-that-matters-is-that-the-thing-be-th_583796.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56f/charles-olson-11645_funny_all-that-matters-is-that-the-thing-be-th_583796.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56f/charles-olson-11645_funny_all-that-matters-is-that-the-thing-be-th_583796.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“All that matters is that the thing be the thing of the thing.” — Charles Olson",
                "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": "Charles Olson",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-olson/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "All that matters is that the...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-olson/all-that-matters-is-that-the-thing-be-the-thing-of-the-thing/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-olson/all-that-matters-is-that-the-thing-be-the-thing-of-the-thing/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
