--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I am always a beginner. I only try to…" description: "\"I am always a beginner. I only try to include different parts of life; the pastoral, the tragic, et cetera.\" — Ian Hamilton Finlay" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/081/ian-hamilton-finlay-26772_beginner_i-am-always-a-beginner-i-only-try-to-inc_111220.png" --- # I am always a beginner. I only try to include different… ![“I am always a beginner. I only try to include different parts of life; the pastoral, the tragic, et cetera.” quote by Ian Hamilton Finlay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/081/ian-hamilton-finlay-26772_beginner_i-am-always-a-beginner-i-only-try-to-inc_111220.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/081/ian-hamilton-finlay-26772_beginner_i-am-always-a-beginner-i-only-try-to-inc_111220.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/081/ian-hamilton-finlay-26772_beginner_i-am-always-a-beginner-i-only-try-to-inc_111220.png) > “I am always a beginner. I only try to include different parts of life; the pastoral, the tragic, et cetera.” [Ian Hamilton Finlay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hamilton-finlay/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Embrace perpetual beginnerhood; integrate diverse life aspects—rural, tragic, and beyond—into creative work. **In simple terms:** Stay curious, blend many perspectives. Key Takeaway Beginner’s mind fuels breadth. Themes creativity beginners diversity life experience Mood inspired thoughtful Type philosophical artistic statement When to use this quote - artistic projects - writing workshops - cultural studies Key Concepts interdisciplinary art philosophy of learning Practical Applications - mix genres regularly - seek unfamiliar subjects Questions to Reflect On - How does seeing yourself as a beginner change your output? - What challenges arise when merging disparate life themes? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Pastoral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pastoral/) [Tragic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tragic/) ## Related quotes > [Most English houses, grand or small, nestle in an intimate pastoral setting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-haslam/most-english-houses-grand-or-small-nestle-in-an-intimate-pastoral/) [Nicholas Haslam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-haslam/) > [“The pastoral itch to be where “the action is” should be resisted.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-h-peterson/the-pastoral-itch-to-be-where-the-action-is-should-be-resisted/) [Eugene H. Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-h-peterson/) > [“It seems to me that in a pastoral situation our first risk is to throw people back on themselves with exhortations and instructions as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-seems-to-me-that-in-a-pastoral-situation-our-first-risk-is-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Our Pastoral solicitude induces us to earnestly protect and preserve in everything and especially in the sacred rites of the Church the best and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-clement-viii/our-pastoral-solicitude-induces-us-to-earnestly-protect-and-preserve/) Pope Clement VIII > [“A pastoral presence means walking with the People of God, walking in front of them, showing them the way, showing them the path; walking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/a-pastoral-presence-means-walking-with-the-people-of-god-walking-in/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [“… the countryside and the village are symbols of stability and security, of order. Yet they are also, as I have noted, liminal spaces,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-m-w-wemyss/the-countryside-and-the-village-are-symbols-of-stability-and-security/) [G.M.W. Wemyss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-m-w-wemyss/) > [“If I know the classical psychological theories well enough to pass my comps and can reformulate them in ways that can impress peer reviewers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-muse/if-i-know-the-classical-psychological-theories-well-enough-to-pass-my/) Stephen Muse > [“a ênfase não está no crescimento da congregação como estrutura – em números, finanças e sucesso – e sim no crescimento do evangelho, à…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-marshall/a-nfase-n-o-est-no-crescimento-da-congrega-o-como-estrutura-em-n/) [Colin Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-marshall/) > [“Solitude is a chosen separation for refining your soul. Isolation is what you crave when you neglect the first.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-cordeiro/solitude-is-a-chosen-separation-for-refining-your-soul-isolation-is/) [Wayne Cordeiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-cordeiro/) > [“It is important to draw out the pastoral consequences of the Council’s teaching, which reflects an ancient conviction of the Church. First, it needs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/it-is-important-to-draw-out-the-pastoral-consequences-of-the-council/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [“The task of pastoral ministry, above all else, is to arrange contingencies for an encounter with the divine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/the-task-of-pastoral-ministry-above-all-else-is-to-arrange/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [Pastoral ministry is about an ongoing confrontation with the god of this world, with blindness, hardness of heart, remaining sin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-j-mahaney/pastoral-ministry-is-about-an-ongoing-confrontation-with-the-god-of/) [C. J. Mahaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-j-mahaney/) > [“Pope Gregory believed that successful pastoral leadership required a balance between the contemplation of the isolated ascetic and the action of the well-trained administrator.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-gregory-i/pope-gregory-believed-that-successful-pastoral-leadership-required-a/) [Pope Gregory I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-gregory-i/) > [There's a whole range of words that people use about landscape. Pastoral? Idyll? I can't stand them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-oswald/there-s-a-whole-range-of-words-that-people-use-about-landscape/) [Alice Oswald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-oswald/) > [Although, from the point of view of sociology, the overt ambition of 'American Pastoral' - to imagine the impact on a good man of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-jacobson/although-from-the-point-of-view-of-sociology-the-overt-ambition-of/) [Howard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-jacobson/) ## More by Ian Hamilton Finlay > [I have often said that just as the French revolution, for instance, understood itself through antiquity, I think our time can be understood through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hamilton-finlay/i-have-often-said-that-just-as-the-french-revolution-for-instance/) [Ian Hamilton Finlay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hamilton-finlay/) > [But I can only write what the muse allows me to write. I cannot choose, I can only do what I am given, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hamilton-finlay/but-i-can-only-write-what-the-muse-allows-me-to-write-i-cannot-choose/) [Ian Hamilton Finlay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hamilton-finlay/) > [But you have to understand that I consider myself a very modest artist, or whatever, and not of importance really at all - it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hamilton-finlay/but-you-have-to-understand-that-i-consider-myself-a-very-modest/) [Ian Hamilton Finlay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hamilton-finlay/) > [However, I don't feel the world is looking over my shoulder when I am working - I never think about this at all. What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hamilton-finlay/however-i-don-t-feel-the-world-is-looking-over-my-shoulder-when-i-am/) [Ian Hamilton Finlay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hamilton-finlay/) > [The same sort of thing happened in my dispute with the National Trust book: Follies: A National Trust Guide, which implied that the only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hamilton-finlay/the-same-sort-of-thing-happened-in-my-dispute-with-the-national-trust/) [Ian Hamilton Finlay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hamilton-finlay/) > [If the work is pure then you have to think it could be understood. If it is not understood it doesn't mean that your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hamilton-finlay/if-the-work-is-pure-then-you-have-to-think-it-could-be-understood-if/) [Ian Hamilton Finlay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hamilton-finlay/) > [The present order is the disorder of the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hamilton-finlay/the-present-order-is-the-disorder-of-the-future/) [Ian Hamilton Finlay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hamilton-finlay/) > [Certain gardens are described as retreats when they are really attacks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hamilton-finlay/certain-gardens-are-described-as-retreats-when-they-are-really-attacks/) [Ian Hamilton Finlay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hamilton-finlay/) > [No, I don't make my work in order to challenge or confuse other people's expectations - I only do what I find natural.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hamilton-finlay/no-i-don-t-make-my-work-in-order-to-challenge-or-confuse-other-people/) [Ian Hamilton Finlay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hamilton-finlay/) > [Little Sparta is a garden in the traditional sense. It is perhaps not like other modern gardens, but I think that other times would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hamilton-finlay/little-sparta-is-a-garden-in-the-traditional-sense-it-is-perhaps-not/) [Ian Hamilton Finlay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hamilton-finlay/) > [As a friendly one. I would still like to write concrete poems, but I can only do it sometimes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hamilton-finlay/as-a-friendly-one-i-would-still-like-to-write-concrete-poems-but-i/) [Ian Hamilton Finlay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hamilton-finlay/) > [But at the beginning it was clear to me that concrete poetry was peculiarly suited for using in public settings. This was my idea,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hamilton-finlay/but-at-the-beginning-it-was-clear-to-me-that-concrete-poetry-was/) [Ian Hamilton Finlay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hamilton-finlay/) > [I came to these mediums through having the garden, and of course, people who have designed gardens have always worked in collaboration, and never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hamilton-finlay/i-came-to-these-mediums-through-having-the-garden-and-of-course/) [Ian Hamilton Finlay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hamilton-finlay/) > [People have always found me challenging - I don't know why, when I am only being myself. I don't understand why they find me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hamilton-finlay/people-have-always-found-me-challenging-i-don-t-know-why-when-i-am/) [Ian Hamilton Finlay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hamilton-finlay/) > [My position is that since the non-secular status of my garden is not recognised by the law; by the world of the public, then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hamilton-finlay/my-position-is-that-since-the-non-secular-status-of-my-garden-is-not/) [Ian Hamilton Finlay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hamilton-finlay/) [Explore all 21 Ian Hamilton Finlay quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hamilton-finlay/) ## More Beginner quotes > [There never was a winner, who wasn't a beginner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-waitley/there-never-was-a-winner-who-wasn-t-a-beginner/) [Denis Waitley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-waitley/) > [Kook means the clueless beginner who paddles his surf board out to the other surfers in the lineup and starts chattering away like it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-heller/kook-means-the-clueless-beginner-who-paddles-his-surf-board-out-to/) [Peter Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-heller/) > [If the angel deigns to come it will be because you have convinced her, not by tears but by your humble resolve to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/if-the-angel-deigns-to-come-it-will-be-because-you-have-convinced-her/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [I know now that everybody in the arts is forever a beginner. Experience counts for a great deal and very little. Every night onstage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-rivers/i-know-now-that-everybody-in-the-arts-is-forever-a-beginner/) [Joan Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-rivers/) > [I've always liked to learn how to do things - I'm a hobby person. So I'll learn something at a beginner's level, then usually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-van-etten/i-ve-always-liked-to-learn-how-to-do-things-i-m-a-hobby-person-so-i/) [Sharon Van Etten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-van-etten/) > [Starting out in a beginner class and really understanding the fundamentals of yoga is really important.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariel-hemingway/starting-out-in-a-beginner-class-and-really-understanding-the/) [Mariel Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariel-hemingway/) > [A fiery, good beginner always stands higher than a master in mediocrity...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-schumann/a-fiery-good-beginner-always-stands-higher-than-a-master-in-mediocrity/) [Robert Schumann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-schumann/) > [You can only get a beginner's mind once.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/you-can-only-get-a-beginner-s-mind-once/) [Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/) > [“Masters today, were Starters Yesterday, so begin now.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-kelvin-clive/masters-today-were-starters-yesterday-so-begin-now/) [Bernard Kelvin Clive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-kelvin-clive/) > [If he ever had a bright idea it would be beginner's luck.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-lashner/if-he-ever-had-a-bright-idea-it-would-be-beginner-s-luck/) [William Lashner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-lashner/) > [The expert in anything was always a beginner once](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/green-monk/the-expert-in-anything-was-always-a-beginner-once/) [Green Monk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/green-monk/) > [Talent is important, and some background as well. This really is not beginner's school. I want to work with people that have achieved a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vlatko-stefanovski/talent-is-important-and-some-background-as-well-this-really-is-not/) Vlatko Stefanovski > [For a beginner, find a trainer that you trust and set some goals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hafthor-bjornsson/for-a-beginner-find-a-trainer-that-you-trust-and-set-some-goals/) [Hafthor Bjornsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hafthor-bjornsson/) > [I've been making movies for a long time. The Japanese way of making movies has become second nature to me. To get away from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/takashi-miike/i-ve-been-making-movies-for-a-long-time-the-japanese-way-of-making/) [Takashi Miike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/takashi-miike/) > [The beginner's humility and openness lead to exploration. Exploration leads to accomplishment. All of it begins at the beginning, with the first small and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-cameron/the-beginner-s-humility-and-openness-lead-to-exploration-exploration/) [Julia Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-cameron/) Browse all 119 Beginner quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I am always a beginner. 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