--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The art form has to do with the mystery…" description: "\"The art form has to do with the mystery and the hidden invitation that's in the room. And that's when the magic happens, that's when the deep silence e..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ca/david-whyte-3502_art_the-art-form-has-to-do-with-the-mystery_1902098.jpg" --- # The art form has to do with the mystery and the hidden… ![“The art form has to do with the mystery and the hidden invitation that's in the room. And that's when the magic happens, that's when the deep silence emerges to the surprise of all the attentively listening ears. In a way, you're following that silence. You go where the silence is deepest.” quote by David Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ca/david-whyte-3502_art_the-art-form-has-to-do-with-the-mystery_1902098.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ca/david-whyte-3502_art_the-art-form-has-to-do-with-the-mystery_1902098.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ca/david-whyte-3502_art_the-art-form-has-to-do-with-the-mystery_1902098.jpg) > “The art form has to do with the mystery and the hidden invitation that's in the room. And that's when the magic happens, that's when the deep silence emerges to the surprise of all the attentively listening ears. In a way, you're following that silence. You go where the silence is deepest.” [David Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-whyte/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Silence invites deep listening; when we attend to the unseen, the magic of true connection emerges. **In simple terms:** Listening to silence reveals hidden depth. Key Takeaway Cultivate attentive silence in conversation. Themes silence listening magic connection Mood contemplative inspirational Type poetic reflective When to use this quote - meditation - public speaking - teaching - creative collaboration Key Concepts mindful presence deep listening Questions to Reflect On - How do you create space for silence? - What insights arise when you listen deeply? A Different Perspective Noise and distraction can drown subtle cues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Art form](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-form/) [Invitations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/invitations/) [Listening ear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/listening-ear/) [Magic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/magic/) [Mystery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mystery/) [Silence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silence/) [Surprise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surprise/) ## Related quotes > [“You don't need to fill the silence— sometimes, silence is the deepest conversation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-delaney/you-don-t-need-to-fill-the-silence-sometimes-silence-is-the-deepest/) Sean DeLaney > [“Silence frees us from the need to control others. One reason we can hardly bear to remain silent is that it makes us feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-j-foster/silence-frees-us-from-the-need-to-control-others-one-reason-we-can/) [Richard J. Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-j-foster/) > [Silence is our deepest nature, our home, our common ground, our peace. Silence reveals. Silence heals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunilla-brodde-norris/silence-is-our-deepest-nature-our-home-our-common-ground-our-peace/) [Gunilla Brodde Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunilla-brodde-norris/) > [Silence is one of the deepest Disciplines of the Spirit, simply because it puts the stopper on all self-justificat ion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-j-foster/silence-is-one-of-the-deepest-disciplines-of-the-spirit-simply-3/) [Richard J. Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-j-foster/) > [“Silence is one of the deepest Disciplines of the Spirit simply because it puts the stopper on all self-justification.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-j-foster/silence-is-one-of-the-deepest-disciplines-of-the-spirit-simply-2/) [Richard J. Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-j-foster/) > [“Silence is one of the deepest disciplines of the Spirit simply because it puts the stopper on all self-justification. One of the fruits of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-j-foster/silence-is-one-of-the-deepest-disciplines-of-the-spirit-simply/) [Richard J. Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-j-foster/) > [If someone insults you be in deep silence that one day they'll be tired of doing ill things and take time to realise how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bhar/if-someone-insults-you-be-in-deep-silence-that-one-day-they-ll-be/) [Bhar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bhar/) > [In the deep silence ¦.and in dark nights¦. in this long dreary life¦¦.nowhisper no move¦.still trembles a hope inside¦¦](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senoraroy/in-the-deep-silence-and-in-dark-nights-in-this-long-dreary-life/) Senoraroy > [Day after day, we culture our minds with the deep silence of our own Being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maharishi-mahesh-yogi/day-after-day-we-culture-our-minds-with-the-deep-silence-of-our-own/) [Maharishi Mahesh Yogi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maharishi-mahesh-yogi/) > [Such a deep silence surrounds me, that I think I hear moonbeams striking on the windows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucian-blaga/such-a-deep-silence-surrounds-me-that-i-think-i-hear-moonbeams/) [Lucian Blaga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucian-blaga/) > [“When we scream and shout inside our heart, deep silence prevails outside and often we are mistaken to be snobbish.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/upasana-banerjee/when-we-scream-and-shout-inside-our-heart-deep-silence-prevails/) [Upasana Banerjee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/upasana-banerjee/) > [Deep vengeance is the daughter of deep silence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vittorio-alfieri/deep-vengeance-is-the-daughter-of-deep-silence/) [Vittorio Alfieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vittorio-alfieri/) > [“Life's most valuable lessons are learned in absolute silence. It is when we are deep in that silence that we have the ability to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ricky-martin/life-s-most-valuable-lessons-are-learned-in-absolute-silence-it-is/) [Ricky Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ricky-martin/) > [“Deep silence fell about the little camp, planted there so audaciously in the jaws of the wilderness. The lake gleamed like a sheet of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/algernon-blackwood/deep-silence-fell-about-the-little-camp-planted-there-so-audaciously/) [Algernon Blackwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/algernon-blackwood/) > [if you listen long enough - or is it deep enough? - the silence of a lover can speak plainer than any words! Only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-bottome/if-you-listen-long-enough-or-is-it-deep-enough-the-silence-of-a-lover/) [Phyllis Bottome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-bottome/) ## More by David Whyte > [“The poet lives and writes at the frontier between deep internal experience and the revelations of the outer world. There is no going back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-whyte/the-poet-lives-and-writes-at-the-frontier-between-deep-internal/) [David Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-whyte/) > [I returned to poetry as a more precise way to describe the world, more precise than science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-whyte/i-returned-to-poetry-as-a-more-precise-way-to-describe-the-world-more/) [David Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-whyte/) > [What if the world is holding its breath - waiting for you to take the place that only you can fill?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-whyte/what-if-the-world-is-holding-its-breath-waiting-for-you-to-take-the/) [David Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-whyte/) > [What you plan is too small for you to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-whyte/what-you-plan-is-too-small-for-you-to-live/) [David Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-whyte/) > [“It is not the thing you fear that you must deal with, it is the mother of the thing you fear. The very thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-whyte/it-is-not-the-thing-you-fear-that-you-must-deal-with-it-is-the-mother/) [David Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-whyte/) > [Heartbreak is our indication of sincerity: in a love relationship, in a work, in trying to learn a musical instrument, in the attempt to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-whyte/heartbreak-is-our-indication-of-sincerity-in-a-love-relationship-in-a/) [David Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-whyte/) > [The frail, vulnerable sounds of which we are capable seem to be essential to a later ability to roar like a lion without scaring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-whyte/the-frail-vulnerable-sounds-of-which-we-are-capable-seem-to-be/) [David Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-whyte/) > [A good poem has its own life. It's like bringing a child into the world. You, the poet, birthed the child, but the child…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-whyte/a-good-poem-has-its-own-life-it-s-like-bringing-a-child-into-the/) [David Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-whyte/) > [“Work, like marriage, is a place you can lose yourself more easily perhaps than finding yourself. It is a place full of powerful undercurrents,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-whyte/work-like-marriage-is-a-place-you-can-lose-yourself-more-easily/) [David Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-whyte/) > [The moment you’ve uttered the exact dimensionality of your exile, you’re already turning towards home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-whyte/the-moment-you-ve-uttered-the-exact-dimensionality-of-your-exile-you/) [David Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-whyte/) > [“...wanting soul life without the dark, warming intelligence of personal doubt is like expecting an egg without the brooding heat of the mother hen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-whyte/wanting-soul-life-without-the-dark-warming-intelligence-of-personal/) [David Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-whyte/) > [It's my contention that there is no sincere path a human being can take without breaking his or her heart...so it can be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-whyte/it-s-my-contention-that-there-is-no-sincere-path-a-human-being-can/) [David Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-whyte/) > [“FINISTERRE The road in the end taking the path the sun had taken, into the western sea, and the moon rising behind you as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-whyte/finisterre-the-road-in-the-end-taking-the-path-the-sun-had-taken-into/) [David Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-whyte/) > [“We can never know in the beginning, in giving ourselves to a person, to a work, to a marriage or to a cause, exactly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-whyte/we-can-never-know-in-the-beginning-in-giving-ourselves-to-a-person-to/) [David Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-whyte/) > [“When your eyes are tired the world is tired also. When your vision has gone no part of the world can find you. Time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-whyte/when-your-eyes-are-tired-the-world-is-tired-also-when-your-vision-has/) [David Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-whyte/) [Explore all 129 David Whyte quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-whyte/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The art form has to do with the mystery and the hidden invitation that's in the room. And that's when the magic happens, that's when the deep silence emerges to the surprise of all the attentively listening ears. In a way, you're following that silence. You go where the silence is deepest.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Whyte" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-whyte/the-art-form-has-to-do-with-the-mystery-and-the-hidden-invitation/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-whyte/the-art-form-has-to-do-with-the-mystery-and-the-hidden-invitation/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ca/david-whyte-3502_art_the-art-form-has-to-do-with-the-mystery_1902098.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ca/david-whyte-3502_art_the-art-form-has-to-do-with-the-mystery_1902098.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ca/david-whyte-3502_art_the-art-form-has-to-do-with-the-mystery_1902098.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The art form has to do with the mystery and the hidden invitation that's in the room. And that's when the…” — David Whyte", "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": "David Whyte", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-whyte/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The art form has to do...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-whyte/the-art-form-has-to-do-with-the-mystery-and-the-hidden-invitation/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-whyte/the-art-form-has-to-do-with-the-mystery-and-the-hidden-invitation/#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 } } ] } ```