--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Just keep playing, mastering as you do…" description: "\"Just keep playing, mastering as you do the step Into disorder this one meant. Don't you see It's all we can do? Meanwhile, great fires Arise, as of hay..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/540/john-ashbery-3600_arise_just-keep-playing-mastering-as-you-do-th_2358883.jpg" --- # Just keep playing, mastering as you do the step Into… ![“Just keep playing, mastering as you do the step Into disorder this one meant. Don't you see It's all we can do? Meanwhile, great fires Arise, as of haystacks aflame. The dial has been set And that's ominous, but all your graciousness in living Conspires with it, now that this is our home: A place…” quote by John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/540/john-ashbery-3600_arise_just-keep-playing-mastering-as-you-do-th_2358883.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/540/john-ashbery-3600_arise_just-keep-playing-mastering-as-you-do-th_2358883.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/540/john-ashbery-3600_arise_just-keep-playing-mastering-as-you-do-th_2358883.jpg) > “Just keep playing, mastering as you do the step Into disorder this one meant. Don't you see It's all we can do? Meanwhile, great fires Arise, as of haystacks aflame. The dial has been set And that's ominous, but all your graciousness in living Conspires with it, now that this is our home: A place to be from, and have people ask about.” [John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Chaos and creation coexist; human effort persists amid looming danger. **In simple terms:** Life is messy, but we keep creating. Key Takeaway Find purpose despite disorder. Themes creativity existentialism resilience Mood melancholic hopeful Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - artistic creation - social activism - personal coping strategies Key Concepts Chaos theory human agency Questions to Reflect On - What does the 'dial' symbolize for you? - How do you balance creation with looming threats? A Different Perspective Order may be inevitable in some systems. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Arise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arise/) [Asks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asks/) [Can do](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/can-do/) [Conspires Home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conspires-home-5768630/) [Disorder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disorder/) [Fire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fire/) [Fires Arise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fires-arise-5768629/) [Graciousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/graciousness/) [Has beens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/has-beens/) [Home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home/) [Meant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meant/) [Ominous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ominous/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Set Ominous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/set-ominous-5768628/) [Steps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/steps/) ## Related quotes > [You stupefied me. We waxed, Carnivores, late and alight In the beaded winter. All was ominous, luminous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/you-stupefied-me-we-waxed-carnivores-late-and-alight-in-the-beaded/) [John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/) > [If you happen to find it hard to have sustained conversations, try keeping your voice up at the end of the sentence. There is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margery-wilson/if-you-happen-to-find-it-hard-to-have-sustained-conversations-try/) [Margery Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margery-wilson/) > [Like families, competitors can bring out the worst as well as the best in each other. Like romance, competition has many faces, some of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariah-nelson/like-families-competitors-can-bring-out-the-worst-as-well-as-the-best/) [Mariah Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariah-nelson/) > [“The hard truth is, the life thing moments happen. They are the details, the surprises, the every now and again “dang it” moments that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaha-knight/the-hard-truth-is-the-life-thing-moments-happen-they-are-the-details/) [Jaha Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaha-knight/) > [“Thank you to Giulia Fani, Joan Spence and my sister for the rooms and desks they loaned me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moez-surani/thank-you-to-giulia-fani-joan-spence-and-my-sister-for-the-rooms-and/) [Moez Surani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moez-surani/) > [Graciousness, courtesy, compassion-this is hesed. Hesed is a quality that extends even to the animals and the land. The sabbath rest principle of Hebrew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-j-foster/graciousness-courtesy-compassion-this-is-hesed-hesed-is-a-quality/) [Richard J. Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-j-foster/) > [One must place one's principles in big things. For the small, graciousness will suffice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/one-must-place-one-s-principles-in-big-things-for-the-small/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [Graciousness is the fruit of someone who knows how badly they themselves need grace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tullian-tchividjian/graciousness-is-the-fruit-of-someone-who-knows-how-badly-they/) [Tullian Tchividjian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tullian-tchividjian/) > [“But perseverance in humility of conduct and messages, in self-condemnation for Robert’s offence, and gratitude for the unkindness she was treated with, procured her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/but-perseverance-in-humility-of-conduct-and-messages-in-self/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [There is graciousness and a kind of urbanity in beginning with men by esteem and confidence. It proves, at least, that we have long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/there-is-graciousness-and-a-kind-of-urbanity-in-beginning-with-men-by/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [“If he could be hard on kings and cabinets, he was invariably kind to his colleagues.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taliaferro/if-he-could-be-hard-on-kings-and-cabinets-he-was-invariably-kind-to/) [John Taliaferro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taliaferro/) > [Sportsmanship is the ethical and moral dimension of sports. It is demonstrated by a number of attributes and attitudes such as fair play, respect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-josephson/sportsmanship-is-the-ethical-and-moral-dimension-of-sports-it-is/) [Michael Josephson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-josephson/) > [To bear defeat with dignity, to accept criticism with poise, to receive honors with humility - these are marks of maturity and graciousness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-bear-defeat-with-dignity-to-accept-criticism-with-poise-to-receive/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Your graciousness is what carries you. It isn't how old you are, how young you are, how beautiful you are, or how short your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-nicks/your-graciousness-is-what-carries-you-it-isn-t-how-old-you-are-how/) [Stevie Nicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-nicks/) > [We need to discover all over again that worship is natural to the Christian, as it was to the godly Israelites who wrote the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-i-packer/we-need-to-discover-all-over-again-that-worship-is-natural-to-the/) [J. I. Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-i-packer/) ## More by John Ashbery > [“It was always November there.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/it-was-always-november-there/) [John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/) > [“Yes, they are alive and can have those colors, But I, in my soul, am alive too. 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I feel they're going on all the time in my head and I occasionally snip off…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/i-don-t-look-on-poetry-as-closed-works-i-feel-they-re-going-on-all/) [John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/) > [Somewhere someone is traveling furiously toward you, At incredible speed, traveling day and night, Through blizzards and desert heat, across torrents, through narrow passes.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/somewhere-someone-is-traveling-furiously-toward-you-at-incredible-2/) [John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/) > [The promise of learning is a delusion… Tomorrow would alter the sense of what had already been learned, that the learning process is extended…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/the-promise-of-learning-is-a-delusion-tomorrow-would-alter-the-sense/) [John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/) [Explore all 126 John Ashbery quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/) ## More Arise quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [The financial crisis we are facing today arises from the fact that there is almost no more social, cultural, natural, and spiritual capital left…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-eisenstein/the-financial-crisis-we-are-facing-today-arises-from-the-fact-that/) [Charles Eisenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-eisenstein/) > [Let art, then, imitate nature, find what she desires, and follow as she directs. For in invention nature is never last, education never first;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/let-art-then-imitate-nature-find-what-she-desires-and-follow-as-she/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [Do not be satisfied with the speech of your lips and the thought in your heart, all the promises and good sayings in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/menachem-mendel-of-kotzk/do-not-be-satisfied-with-the-speech-of-your-lips-and-the-thought-in/) [Menachem Mendel of Kotzk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/menachem-mendel-of-kotzk/) > [Arise Evans had a fungous nose, and said, it was revealed to him, that the King's hand would cure him, and at the first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-aubrey/arise-evans-had-a-fungous-nose-and-said-it-was-revealed-to-him-that/) [John Aubrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-aubrey/) > [Boasting and bravado may exist in the breast even of the coward, if he is successful through a mere lucky hit; but a just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thucydides/boasting-and-bravado-may-exist-in-the-breast-even-of-the-coward-if-he/) [Thucydides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thucydides/) > [We need less travelling by jet plaes from congress to congress... but more kneeling and praying and pleading to God to have mercy on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martyn-lloyd-jones/we-need-less-travelling-by-jet-plaes-from-congress-to-congress-but/) [Martyn Lloyd-Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martyn-lloyd-jones/) > [In my model, important interference phenomena arise when individual strata come into contact. These chaotic fluctuations are, I suppose, what my music is really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-ferneyhough/in-my-model-important-interference-phenomena-arise-when-individual/) [Brian Ferneyhough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-ferneyhough/) > [Whenever you step out of the noise of thinking, that is meditation, and a different state of consciousness arises.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/whenever-you-step-out-of-the-noise-of-thinking-that-is-meditation-and/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [An idea or institution may arise for one reason and be maintained for quite a different reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-mccabe/an-idea-or-institution-may-arise-for-one-reason-and-be-maintained-for/) [Joseph McCabe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-mccabe/) > [The oppressed without hope are mysteriously quiet. 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