--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you're supposed to be doing something…" description: "\"If you're supposed to be doing something, the spirits will come and help you. They have helped me out with lines I shouldn't have known, chords I shoul..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/699/gil-scott-heron-9568_better_if-you-re-supposed-to-be-doing-something_1926446.jpg" --- # If you're supposed to be doing something, the spirits will… ![“If you're supposed to be doing something, the spirits will come and help you. They have helped me out with lines I shouldn't have known, chords I shouldn't have known. Every once in a while I get lines from somewhere, and I think, I better write this down.” quote by Gil Scott-Heron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/699/gil-scott-heron-9568_better_if-you-re-supposed-to-be-doing-something_1926446.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/699/gil-scott-heron-9568_better_if-you-re-supposed-to-be-doing-something_1926446.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/699/gil-scott-heron-9568_better_if-you-re-supposed-to-be-doing-something_1926446.jpg) > “If you're supposed to be doing something, the spirits will come and help you. They have helped me out with lines I shouldn't have known, chords I shouldn't have known. Every once in a while I get lines from somewhere, and I think, I better write this down.” [Gil Scott-Heron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gil-scott-heron/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Creative inspiration can appear spontaneously, as if unseen forces guide artistic expression. **In simple terms:** Ideas may seem to come from beyond oneself. Key Takeaway Stay open to unexpected creative impulses. Themes creativity spirituality intuition artistic process collaboration Mood inspirational introspective Type artistic philosophical When to use this quote - songwriting sessions - improvisation jams - creative workshops - personal reflection Key Concepts psychology mysticism musical composition Questions to Reflect On - How do you differentiate intuition from random thought? - What role does discipline play in creativity? A Different Perspective Relying on unseen help may hinder disciplined practice. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Help](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/help/) ## Related quotes > [“Are spirits so involved in men's lives? Marley asked. Mankind is inolved in men's lives. 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Nature must pay off…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-i-gurdjieff/if-you-help-others-you-will-be-helped-perhaps-tomorrow-perhaps-in-one/) [G. I. Gurdjieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-i-gurdjieff/) > [“It's so good to have the opportunity to help others who have helped you. It's not about "tit for tat," it's about "I love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-e-quinones-miller/it-s-so-good-to-have-the-opportunity-to-help-others-who-have-helped/) [Karen E. Quinones Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-e-quinones-miller/) > [“The best way is to understand yourself, and then you will understand everything. 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And we are helping, and we're going to continue to help.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-quayle/they-need-help-and-we-have-helped-and-we-are-here-to-help-and-we-are/) [Dan Quayle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-quayle/) > [Whoever is unwilling to help himself can be helped by no one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-heinrich-pestalozzi/whoever-is-unwilling-to-help-himself-can-be-helped-by-no-one/) [Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-heinrich-pestalozzi/) > [It is important for me to help others because I was also helped by others before I became part of the Black Eyed Peas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/apl-de-ap/it-is-important-for-me-to-help-others-because-i-was-also-helped-by/) [apl.de.ap](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/apl-de-ap/) ## More by Gil Scott-Heron > [Oftentimes, the way it seems to be is that our artists in particular point themselves out as spokesmen for a certain constituency in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gil-scott-heron/oftentimes-the-way-it-seems-to-be-is-that-our-artists-in-particular/) [Gil Scott-Heron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gil-scott-heron/) > [I was one of the first three black students to go to an all-white school in Tennessee.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gil-scott-heron/i-was-one-of-the-first-three-black-students-to-go-to-an-all-white/) [Gil Scott-Heron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gil-scott-heron/) > [A good poet feels what his community feels. 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It's about three soldiers from Somalia. Some babies have been disappearing up on 144th Street, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gil-scott-heron/i-have-a-novel-that-i-can-write-it-s-about-three-soldiers-from/) [Gil Scott-Heron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gil-scott-heron/) > [ I work hard at it \[delivery of lyrics\], just like I worked hard at getting my masters degree. It's not just something I sit… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gil-scott-heron/i-work-hard-at-it-delivery-of-lyrics-just-like-i-worked-hard-at/) [Gil Scott-Heron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gil-scott-heron/) > [Your life has to consist of more than 'Black people should unite.' You hope they do, but not twenty-four hours a day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gil-scott-heron/your-life-has-to-consist-of-more-than-black-people-should-unite-you/) [Gil Scott-Heron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gil-scott-heron/) > [You should be able to do anything you can afford as an adult.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gil-scott-heron/you-should-be-able-to-do-anything-you-can-afford-as-an-adult/) [Gil Scott-Heron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gil-scott-heron/) > [You know what has made me the happiest I've ever been? Seeing my son and daughter graduate from college. More than wanting them to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gil-scott-heron/you-know-what-has-made-me-the-happiest-i-ve-ever-been-seeing-my-son/) [Gil Scott-Heron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gil-scott-heron/) > [I've always had questions about what it meant to be a protester, to be in the minority. 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