--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And I think that after nearly 85 years…" description: "\"And I think that after nearly 85 years upon this planet that I have a right after working so hard at showing the desolation and the poverty, to show so..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fe/gordon-parks-14120_beautiful_and-i-think-that-after-nearly-85-years-u_1548906.jpg" --- # And I think that after nearly 85 years upon this planet… ![“And I think that after nearly 85 years upon this planet that I have a right after working so hard at showing the desolation and the poverty, to show something beautiful for somebody as well.” quote by Gordon Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fe/gordon-parks-14120_beautiful_and-i-think-that-after-nearly-85-years-u_1548906.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fe/gordon-parks-14120_beautiful_and-i-think-that-after-nearly-85-years-u_1548906.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fe/gordon-parks-14120_beautiful_and-i-think-that-after-nearly-85-years-u_1548906.jpg) > “And I think that after nearly 85 years upon this planet that I have a right after working so hard at showing the desolation and the poverty, to show something beautiful for somebody as well.” [Gordon Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-parks/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. After decades of confronting hardship, he feels entitled to create beauty for others, emphasizing artistic responsibility. **In simple terms:** After hardship, he wants to create beauty for others. Key Takeaway Use art to bring hope after suffering. Themes art responsibility hope Mood reflective inspirational Type artistic social‑justice When to use this quote - community projects - exhibitions - educational programs Key Concepts beauty social justice legacy Questions to Reflect On - How can artists balance suffering with creation? - What responsibilities do creators have to society? A Different Perspective May imply entitlement rather than duty. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beautiful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beautiful/) [Desolation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desolation/) [Poverty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poverty/) [Working hard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/working-hard/) ## Related quotes > [Life, struggle, even amidst pain and blood and poverty, seemed beautiful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ngugi-wa-thiong-o/life-struggle-even-amidst-pain-and-blood-and-poverty-seemed-beautiful/) [Ngugi wa Thiong'o](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ngugi-wa-thiong-o/) > [There is a statistic I heard a number of years ago: if you know somebody who is 85 years old, that person was born…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/there-is-a-statistic-i-heard-a-number-of-years-ago-if-you-know/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [Even if we die at 100, we're still dying young. I want at least 700 years. There's a lot of travelling and books to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-payne/even-if-we-die-at-100-we-re-still-dying-young-i-want-at-least-700/) [Alexander Payne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-payne/) > [We all feel really blessed to have been with my dad for these 85 years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beau-bridges/we-all-feel-really-blessed-to-have-been-with-my-dad-for-these-85-years/) [Beau Bridges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beau-bridges/) > [I'm coming to the end of my life. I do reflect on what I've done for the 85 years that I have been given…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-koch/i-m-coming-to-the-end-of-my-life-i-do-reflect-on-what-i-ve-done-for/) [Ed Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-koch/) > [“The effect of this cannot be understood without being there. The beauty of it cannot be understood, either, and when you see beauty in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-vandermeer/the-effect-of-this-cannot-be-understood-without-being-there-the/) [Jeff VanderMeer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-vandermeer/) > [“I am back in my beloved city. The scene of desolation fills my eyes with tears. At every step my distress and agitation increases.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khushwant-singh/i-am-back-in-my-beloved-city-the-scene-of-desolation-fills-my-eyes/) [Khushwant Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khushwant-singh/) > [All consolation that does not come from God is but desolation; when the soul has learned to receive no comfort but in God only,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanne-marie-bouvier-de-la-motte-guyon/all-consolation-that-does-not-come-from-god-is-but-desolation-when/) [Jeanne Marie Bouvier de la Motte Guyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanne-marie-bouvier-de-la-motte-guyon/) > [The fountain of my heart dried up within me,-- With nought that loved me, and with nought to love, I stood upon the desert…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-robert-maturin/the-fountain-of-my-heart-dried-up-within-me-with-nought-that-loved-me/) [Charles Robert Maturin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-robert-maturin/) > [The Death of the contemporary forms of social order ought to gladden rather than trouble the soul. Yet what is frightening is that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-herzen/the-death-of-the-contemporary-forms-of-social-order-ought-to-gladden/) [Alexander Herzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-herzen/) > [There are houses in certain provincial towns whose aspect inspires melancholy, akin to that called forth by sombre cloisters, dreary moorlands, or the desolation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/there-are-houses-in-certain-provincial-towns-whose-aspect-inspires/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [They create a desolation and call it peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/calgacus/they-create-a-desolation-and-call-it-peace/) Calgacus > [“Then think of fire, It’s laughter, the music of splintering beams and glass, The flames reaching through the second story of a house almost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-levis/then-think-of-fire-it-s-laughter-the-music-of-splintering-beams-and/) [Larry Levis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-levis/) > [“ Desolation would not be the proper word to describe his feelings now; it was more the sense of emptiness he imagined he might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shusaku-endo/desolation-would-not-be-the-proper-word-to-describe-his-feelings-now/) [Shusaku Endo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shusaku-endo/) > [“A sense of desolation settled within me: a cold, slimy stone lodged under my lungs. There was nothing happy about the woods, I thought,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-davidson/a-sense-of-desolation-settled-within-me-a-cold-slimy-stone-lodged/) [Craig Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-davidson/) ## More by Gordon Parks > [You know, the camera is not meant just to show misery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-parks/you-know-the-camera-is-not-meant-just-to-show-misery/) [Gordon Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-parks/) > [The camera could be a very powerful instrument against discrimination, against poverty, against racism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-parks/the-camera-could-be-a-very-powerful-instrument-against-discrimination/) [Gordon Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-parks/) > [I bought my first camera in Seattle, Washington. Only paid about seven dollars and fifty cents for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-parks/i-bought-my-first-camera-in-seattle-washington-only-paid-about-seven/) [Gordon Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-parks/) > [But I do feel a little teeny right now that I'm just about ready to start, and winter is entering. Half past autumn has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-parks/but-i-do-feel-a-little-teeny-right-now-that-i-m-just-about-ready-to/) [Gordon Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-parks/) > [I was born to a black childhood of confusion and poverty. The memory of that beginning influences my work today, It is impossible now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-parks/i-was-born-to-a-black-childhood-of-confusion-and-poverty-the-memory/) [Gordon Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-parks/) > [I had known poverty firsthand, but there I learned how to fight its evil - along with the evil of racism - with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-parks/i-had-known-poverty-firsthand-but-there-i-learned-how-to-fight-its/) [Gordon Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-parks/) > [Many times I wondered whether my achievement was worth the loneliness I experienced, but now I realize the price was small.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-parks/many-times-i-wondered-whether-my-achievement-was-worth-the-loneliness/) [Gordon Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-parks/) > [I do find a certain fascination with the unpredictable. The transitory years we wade through are what they are- what we make of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-parks/i-do-find-a-certain-fascination-with-the-unpredictable-the-transitory/) [Gordon Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-parks/) > [At first I wasn't sure that I had the talent, but I did know I had a fear of failure, and that fear compelled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-parks/at-first-i-wasn-t-sure-that-i-had-the-talent-but-i-did-know-i-had-a/) [Gordon Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-parks/) > [The man at Kodak told me the shots were very good and if I kept it up, they would give me an exhibition. Later,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-parks/the-man-at-kodak-told-me-the-shots-were-very-good-and-if-i-kept-it-up/) [Gordon Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-parks/) > [Nothing came easy. I was just born with a need to explore every part of my mind. And with long searching and hard work,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-parks/nothing-came-easy-i-was-just-born-with-a-need-to-explore-every-part/) [Gordon Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-parks/) > [Washington, D.C. in 1942 was not the easiest place in the world for a Negro to get along.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-parks/washington-d-c-in-1942-was-not-the-easiest-place-in-the-world-for-a/) [Gordon Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-parks/) > [I suffered evils, but without allowing them to rob me of the freedom to expand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-parks/i-suffered-evils-but-without-allowing-them-to-rob-me-of-the-freedom/) [Gordon Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-parks/) > [I have never known anyone important enough to consume me in anger beyond a few hours. Better to depart their existence before they poison…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-parks/i-have-never-known-anyone-important-enough-to-consume-me-in-anger/) [Gordon Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-parks/) > [Enthusiasm is the electricity of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-parks/enthusiasm-is-the-electricity-of-life/) [Gordon Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-parks/) [Explore all 48 Gordon Parks quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-parks/) ## More Beautiful quotes > [I received a beautiful welcome to the world of music. 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You are surrounded by nature - cats, dogs, birds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amala-akkineni/my-school-was-one-of-the-most-beautiful-places-a-child-can-grow-up-in/) [Amala Akkineni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amala-akkineni/) > [“do not misunderstand person by beauty You really do not know its real or Mask on dirty thoughts”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-zaki-ansari/do-not-misunderstand-person-by-beauty-you-really-do-not-know-its-real/) [Mohammed Zaki Ansari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-zaki-ansari/) > [In the hearing world, I'm constantly having to lip-read and trying to understand what's going on. Sign language is so beautiful. It gives you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-ayling-ellis/in-the-hearing-world-i-m-constantly-having-to-lip-read-and-trying-to/) [Rose Ayling-Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-ayling-ellis/) > [The more perfect the sight is the more delightful the beautiful object. 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Call her ugly once, and she will never forget it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tumblr/call-her-beautiful-a-million-times-and-she-won-t-believe-you-call-her/) Tumblr > [You will never know just how beautiful you are to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-will-never-know-just-how-beautiful-you-are-to-me/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You felt a deep sorrow, the kind of melancholy you feel when you're in a beautiful place and the sun is going down](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thrity-umrigar/you-felt-a-deep-sorrow-the-kind-of-melancholy-you-feel-when-you-re-in/) [Thrity Umrigar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thrity-umrigar/) > [ Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit. 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