--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Why do you not do as I do? Letting go of…" description: "\"Why do you not do as I do? Letting go of your thoughts as though they were the cold ashes of a long dead fire?\" — John Cage" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/342/john-cage-2094_ashes_why-do-you-not-do-as-i-do-letting-go-of_2219561.png" --- # Why do you not do as I do? Letting go of your thoughts as… ![“Why do you not do as I do? Letting go of your thoughts as though they were the cold ashes of a long dead fire?” quote by John Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/342/john-cage-2094_ashes_why-do-you-not-do-as-i-do-letting-go-of_2219561.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/342/john-cage-2094_ashes_why-do-you-not-do-as-i-do-letting-go-of_2219561.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/342/john-cage-2094_ashes_why-do-you-not-do-as-i-do-letting-go-of_2219561.png) > “Why do you not do as I do? Letting go of your thoughts as though they were the cold ashes of a long dead fire?” [John Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cage/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Releasing thoughts like extinguished ashes frees the mind, allowing creative silence. **In simple terms:** Let go of thoughts to find quiet. Key Takeaway Practice mental release for creativity. Themes mindfulness creativity detachment Mood calm contemplative Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - Meditation - creative brainstorming - performance preparation Key Concepts Mental emptiness thought cessation artistic silence Questions to Reflect On - How does mental silence affect your work? - Can you balance thought and emptiness? A Different Perspective Complete emptiness may hinder focus. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ashes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ashes/) [Cold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cold/) [Fire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fire/) [Letting go](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/letting-go/) [Thoughts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thoughts/) ## Related quotes > [“I love you, your courage and your stubbornness and your fire and your utter ruthlessness. How much do I love you? So much that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mitchell/i-love-you-your-courage-and-your-stubbornness-and-your-fire-and-your/) [Margaret Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mitchell/) > [Two turtle doves will show thee Where my cold ashes lie And sadly murmuring tell thee How in tears I did die](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikolai-gogol/two-turtle-doves-will-show-thee-where-my-cold-ashes-lie-and-sadly/) [Nikolai Gogol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikolai-gogol/) > [“The sour smell was not the smell of fungus. It was unlit incense, and cold ashes, and unsaid prayers. I”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-stewart/the-sour-smell-was-not-the-smell-of-fungus-it-was-unlit-incense-and/) [Mary Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-stewart/) > [Even on days when every cinder in our soul feels cold, if we crawl to the Word of God and cry out for ears…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-piper/even-on-days-when-every-cinder-in-our-soul-feels-cold-if-we-crawl-to/) [John Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-piper/) > [Out of the dusk a shadow, Then a spark; Out of the cloud a silence, Then a lark; Out of the heart a rapture,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-b-tabb/out-of-the-dusk-a-shadow-then-a-spark-out-of-the-cloud-a-silence-then/) [John B. Tabb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-b-tabb/) > [The wet air was as cold as the ashes of love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/the-wet-air-was-as-cold-as-the-ashes-of-love/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [Once, at a seminar, I heard a Westernized lama say that a meditator's state of mind should be like that of a hotel doorman.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-ian-barasch/once-at-a-seminar-i-heard-a-westernized-lama-say-that-a-meditator-s/) [Marc Ian Barasch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-ian-barasch/) > [It's my own space, my own time, when I'm just out there letting my thoughts go. It's part of my day like eating, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-andrews-kent/it-s-my-own-space-my-own-time-when-i-m-just-out-there-letting-my/) [Louise Andrews Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-andrews-kent/) > [How can you work on letting your thoughts go and getting synchronized into the moment and questioning your wild imagination. But I say just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-waldman/how-can-you-work-on-letting-your-thoughts-go-and-getting-synchronized/) [Anne Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-waldman/) > [The only way you will ever awaken is through silence, not through analyzation of facts. Not by sorting out good and bad, but through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-adams/the-only-way-you-will-ever-awaken-is-through-silence-not-through/) [Robert Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-adams/) > [You begin by letting thoughts flow and watching them. The very observation slows down the mind till it stops altogether. Once the mind is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/you-begin-by-letting-thoughts-flow-and-watching-them-the-very/) [Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/) > [“I needed to stop letting my thoughts wander off on their own. They needed adult supervision, and”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-adair/i-needed-to-stop-letting-my-thoughts-wander-off-on-their-own-they/) [Bobby Adair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-adair/) > [Meditation means cleansing the mirror, dropping thoughts, letting thoughts disappear, attaining to moments when thinking ceases. And those are the most blissful moments in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/meditation-means-cleansing-the-mirror-dropping-thoughts-letting/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [Anything you are shows up in your music - jazz is whatever you are, playing yourself, being yourself, letting your thoughts come through.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-lou-williams/anything-you-are-shows-up-in-your-music-jazz-is-whatever-you-are/) [Mary Lou Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-lou-williams/) > [Everything is crashing and burning. It will remain there until you let it go. Like the ashes have to go away .The world dont…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everything-is-crashing-and-burning-it-will-remain-there-until-you-let/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by John Cage > [If something is boring after two minutes, try it for four. If still boring, then eight. Then sixteen. Then thirty-two. Eventually one discovers that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cage/if-something-is-boring-after-two-minutes-try-it-for-four-if-still/) [John Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cage/) > [ It was at Harvard not quite forty years ago that I went into an anechoic \[totally silent\] chamber not expecting in that silent room… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cage/it-was-at-harvard-not-quite-forty-years-ago-that-i-went-into-an/) [John Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cage/) > [So somebody has talent? So what? Dime a dozen. And we're overpopulated. Actually we have more food than we have people and more art.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cage/so-somebody-has-talent-so-what-dime-a-dozen-and-we-re-overpopulated/) [John Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cage/) > [“...the important questions are answered by not liking only but disliking and accepting equally what one likes and dislikes. Otherwise there is no access…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cage/the-important-questions-are-answered-by-not-liking-only-but-disliking/) [John Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cage/) > [The material of music is sound and silence. Integrating these is composing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cage/the-material-of-music-is-sound-and-silence-integrating-these-is/) [John Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cage/) > [There is poetry as soon as we realize that we possess nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cage/there-is-poetry-as-soon-as-we-realize-that-we-possess-nothing/) [John Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cage/) > [To see, one must go beyond the imiagination and for that one must stand absolutely still as though at the center of a leap.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cage/to-see-one-must-go-beyond-the-imiagination-and-for-that-one-must/) [John Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cage/) > [Value judgments are destructive to our proper business, which is curiosity and awareness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cage/value-judgments-are-destructive-to-our-proper-business-which-is/) [John Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cage/) > [Our intention is to affirm this life, not to bring order out of chaos, nor to suggest improvements in creation, but simply to wake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cage/our-intention-is-to-affirm-this-life-not-to-bring-order-out-of-chaos/) [John Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cage/) > [There are some good people in it, but the orchestra as a whole is equivalent to a gang bent on destruction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cage/there-are-some-good-people-in-it-but-the-orchestra-as-a-whole-is/) [John Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cage/) > [Art's purpose is to sober and quiet the mind so that it is in accord with what happens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cage/art-s-purpose-is-to-sober-and-quiet-the-mind-so-that-it-is-in-accord/) [John Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cage/) > [People who aren't artists often feel that artists are inspired. But if you work at your art you don't have time to be inspired.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cage/people-who-aren-t-artists-often-feel-that-artists-are-inspired-but-if/) [John Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cage/) > [“Farting, don't think, just fart.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cage/farting-don-t-think-just-fart/) [John Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cage/) > [Not one sound fears the silence that extinguishes it. And no silence exists that is not pregnant with sound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cage/not-one-sound-fears-the-silence-that-extinguishes-it-and-no-silence/) [John Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cage/) > [My work became an exploration of non-intention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cage/my-work-became-an-exploration-of-non-intention/) [John Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cage/) [Explore all 186 John Cage quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cage/) ## More Ashes quotes > [You can flush my ashes down the toilet, for all I care.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-can-flush-my-ashes-down-the-toilet-for-all-i-care/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/all-that-is-gold-does-not-glitter-not-all-those-who-wander-are-lost/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I don't want to have a gravestone. I want to have all my friends burn me and then snort the ashes. I think that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-manson/i-don-t-want-to-have-a-gravestone-i-want-to-have-all-my-friends-burn/) [Marilyn Manson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-manson/) > [You know how this is: if I look at the crystal moon, at the red branch of the slow autumn at my window, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/you-know-how-this-is-if-i-look-at-the-crystal-moon-at-the-red-branch/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [He said that he will never let you cry,he will always be there for you no matter how hard the situation is,that he will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhra/he-said-that-he-will-never-let-you-cry-he-will-always-be-there-for/) Zhra > [“The past is to be learned from but not lived in. We look back to claim the embers from glowing experiences but not the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-r-holland/the-past-is-to-be-learned-from-but-not-lived-in-we-look-back-to-claim/) [Jeffrey R. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-r-holland/) > [Much can they praise the trees so straight and high, The sailing pine,the cedar proud and tall, The vine-prop elm, the poplar never dry,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-spenser/much-can-they-praise-the-trees-so-straight-and-high-the-sailing-pine/) [Edmund Spenser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-spenser/) > [When any civilization is dust and ashes," he said, "art is all that's left over. Images, words, music. Imaginative structures. Meaning—human meaning, that is—is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/when-any-civilization-is-dust-and-ashes-he-said-art-is-all-that-s/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [Man is a noble animal, splendid in ashes, and pompous in the grave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-browne/man-is-a-noble-animal-splendid-in-ashes-and-pompous-in-the-grave/) [Thomas Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-browne/) > [“Bury us, and mark our names above. Let us be free.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-miller/bury-us-and-mark-our-names-above-let-us-be-free/) [Madeline Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-miller/) > [There is nothing quite like an Ashes trip Down Under.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-anderson/there-is-nothing-quite-like-an-ashes-trip-down-under/) [James Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-anderson/) > [I think momentum is huge in sport, especially in a series like the Ashes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-stokes/i-think-momentum-is-huge-in-sport-especially-in-a-series-like-the/) [Ben Stokes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-stokes/) > [Mark how fleeting and paltry is the estate of man-yesterday in embryo, tomorrow a mummy or ashes. So for the hairsbreadth of time assigned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/mark-how-fleeting-and-paltry-is-the-estate-of-man-yesterday-in-embryo/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [“When you burn a bridge, you have to be prepared to live with some ashes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-coppernoll/when-you-burn-a-bridge-you-have-to-be-prepared-to-live-with-some-ashes/) [Chris Coppernoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-coppernoll/) > [I would rather be ashes than dust.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-london/i-would-rather-be-ashes-than-dust/) [Jack London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-london/) [Browse all 900 Ashes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ashes/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Why do you not do as I do? 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