---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: People like me spend years learning the…"
description: "\"“People like me spend years learning the techniques of meditation. But you're a poet, and poets are born knowing the language of angels.”\" — Madeleine ..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb9/madeleine-l-engle-345_meditation_people-like-me-spend-years-learning-the_2291532.png"
---

#  People like me spend years learning the techniques of…

![“People like me spend years learning the techniques of meditation. But you're a poet, and poets are born knowing the language of angels.” quote by Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb9/madeleine-l-engle-345_meditation_people-like-me-spend-years-learning-the_2291532.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb9/madeleine-l-engle-345_meditation_people-like-me-spend-years-learning-the_2291532.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb9/madeleine-l-engle-345_meditation_people-like-me-spend-years-learning-the_2291532.png)

> ““People like me spend years learning the techniques of meditation. But you're a poet, and poets are born knowing the language of angels.””

[Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Meditation is learned, but poets inherently understand a divine language.

**In simple terms:** Poets have innate angelic insight.

Key Takeaway

Cultivate poetic intuition alongside practice.

Themes

creativity spirituality learning

Mood

inspirational reflective

Type

literary philosophical

When to use this quote

- writing workshops
- spiritual retreats

Key Concepts

poetry meditative practice

Questions to Reflect On

- Can you develop poetic insight through study?
- What does “language of angels” mean to you?

A Different Perspective

Not everyone can access this innate poetic sense without effort.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[End Year](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/end-year/) [Meditation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meditation/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Poets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poets/)

## Related quotes

> [Simple techniques for meditation can involve repetition of spiritually focused words, thoughts or ideas that help one feel at peace mentally and physically.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-mccarthy/simple-techniques-for-meditation-can-involve-repetition-of/)

[Tim McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-mccarthy/)

> [“Rare-book people have this in common with poets: they too are born, not made.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-millicent-sowerby/rare-book-people-have-this-in-common-with-poets-they-too-are-born-not/)

E. Millicent Sowerby

> [Political parties are like poets, born, not made.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ford/political-parties-are-like-poets-born-not-made/)

[Henry Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ford/)

> [poets are born knowing the language of angels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/poets-are-born-knowing-the-language-of-angels/)

[Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/)

> [Rarest of the real poets are born poets. They are the oddballs, not the professors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-broughton/rarest-of-the-real-poets-are-born-poets-they-are-the-oddballs-not-the/)

[James Broughton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-broughton/)

> [Naturalists, like poets, are born and then made only by years of painstaking observation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burroughs/naturalists-like-poets-are-born-and-then-made-only-by-years-of/)

[John Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burroughs/)

> [Poets are born, not paid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/addison-mizner/poets-are-born-not-paid/)

[Addison Mizner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/addison-mizner/)

> [“Like every great writer before or since, Jonson understood that the best poets 'are both made and born'. That all great writing has to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-shapiro/like-every-great-writer-before-or-since-jonson-understood-that-the/)

[James Shapiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-shapiro/)

> [As we all know, poets are born brain-wired a certain way and every poet I know wrote as a child. I'm no exception.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-cavalieri/as-we-all-know-poets-are-born-brain-wired-a-certain-way-and-every/)

[Grace Cavalieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-cavalieri/)

> [Poets are born, not made](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/american-proverb/poets-are-born-not-made/)

American Proverb

> [When shall we see poets born? After a time of disasters and great misfortunes, when harrowed nations begin to breathe again. And then, shaken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-diderot/when-shall-we-see-poets-born-after-a-time-of-disasters-and-great/)

[Denis Diderot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-diderot/)

> [“Most people spend years trying to feng shui their lives—to decorate and reorganize life in such a way that order and peace will finally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-main/most-people-spend-years-trying-to-feng-shui-their-lives-to-decorate/)

[Darren Main](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-main/)

> [I write all year long, and at the end of the year I pull these forty or fifty things out and say, 'Which of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toby-keith/i-write-all-year-long-and-at-the-end-of-the-year-i-pull-these-forty/)

[Toby Keith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toby-keith/)

> [A stranger can see in an instant something in you that you might spend years learning about yourself. How awful we all are when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-elliott/a-stranger-can-see-in-an-instant-something-in-you-that-you-might/)

[Stephen Elliott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-elliott/)

> [As we are coming to the end of the year, I want you to forget about the past, the failure, the negative thoughts or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-we-are-coming-to-the-end-of-the-year-i-want-you-to-forget-about/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

## More by Madeleine L'Engle

> [“One of the hardest lessons I have to learn is how not to be judgmental about people who are judgmental. When I see how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/one-of-the-hardest-lessons-i-have-to-learn-is-how-not-to-be/)

[Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/)

> [Inspiration more often comes during the work than before it, because the largest part of the job of an artist is to listen to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/inspiration-more-often-comes-during-the-work-than-before-it-because/)

[Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/)

> [You have to write the book that wants to be written. And if the book will be too difficult for grown-ups, then you write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/you-have-to-write-the-book-that-wants-to-be-written-and-if-the-book/)

[Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/)

> [Severe illness isolates those in close contact with it, because it inevitably narrows the focus of concern. To a certain extent this can lead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/severe-illness-isolates-those-in-close-contact-with-it-because-it/)

[Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/)

> [Goodness has never been a guarantee of safety.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/goodness-has-never-been-a-guarantee-of-safety/)

[Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/)

> [“Faith is what makes life bearable, with all its tragedies and ambiguities and sudden, startling joys.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/faith-is-what-makes-life-bearable-with-all-its-tragedies-and/)

[Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/)

> [“Instead of rejoicing in this glorious “impossible” which gives meaning and dignity to our lives, we try to domesticate God, to make his mighty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/instead-of-rejoicing-in-this-glorious-impossible-which-gives-meaning/)

[Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/)

> [I have never lived before...Until this summer, I did not know what it was to be alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/i-have-never-lived-before-until-this-summer-i-did-not-know-what-it/)

[Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/)

> [On the other side of pain, there is still love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/on-the-other-side-of-pain-there-is-still-love/)

[Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/)

> [“To love is to be vulnerable; and it is only in vulnerability and risk—not safety and security—that we overcome darkness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/to-love-is-to-be-vulnerable-and-it-is-only-in-vulnerability-and-risk/)

[Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/)

> [“IT was the most horrible, the most repellent thing she had ever seen, far more nauseating then anything she had ever imagined with her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/it-was-the-most-horrible-the-most-repellent-thing-she-had-ever-seen/)

[Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/)

> [I feel as though I'm not breathing when I'm out of his presence. He's the oxygen in my air, the sun in my universe,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/i-feel-as-though-i-m-not-breathing-when-i-m-out-of-his-presence-he-s/)

[Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/)

> [Rather than feeling lost and unimportant and meaningless, set against galaxies which go beyond the reach of the furthest telescopes, I feel that my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/rather-than-feeling-lost-and-unimportant-and-meaningless-set-against/)

[Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/)

> [My husband is my most ruthless critic... sometimes he will say, 'It's been said better before.' Of course it has. It's all been said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/my-husband-is-my-most-ruthless-critic-sometimes-he-will-say-it-s-been/)

[Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/)

> [If we aren't capable of being hurt we aren't capable of feeling joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/if-we-aren-t-capable-of-being-hurt-we-aren-t-capable-of-feeling-joy/)

[Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/)

[Explore all 660 Madeleine L'Engle quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/)

## More Meditation quotes

> [“Inside every pause lived a contemplation”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-jerome-dickey/inside-every-pause-lived-a-contemplation/)

[Eric Jerome Dickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-jerome-dickey/)

> [Music is a job, but I figured out ways to get my mind into a place where I could be creative. I actually discovered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flume/music-is-a-job-but-i-figured-out-ways-to-get-my-mind-into-a-place/)

[Flume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flume/)

> [You practice mindfulness, on the one hand, to be calm and peaceful. On the other hand, as you practice mindfulness and live a life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-practice-mindfulness-on-the-one-hand-to-be-calm-and-peaceful-on/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [An enlightened awareness is within each one of us, right at this moment. This enlightened awareness is truly unborn and marvellously illuminating; and everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bankei-yotaku/an-enlightened-awareness-is-within-each-one-of-us-right-at-this/)

[Bankei Yotaku](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bankei-yotaku/)

> [If you have time to be mindful, you have time to meditate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ajahn-chah/if-you-have-time-to-be-mindful-you-have-time-to-meditate/)

[Ajahn Chah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ajahn-chah/)

> [If japa is maintained, no useless talk during work will be possible. The mind will always remain peaceful. Modern day diseases are mostly psychosomatic.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mata-amritanandamayi/if-japa-is-maintained-no-useless-talk-during-work-will-be-possible/)

[Mata Amritanandamayi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mata-amritanandamayi/)

> [Unless and until you introspect you cannot even respect yourself. You cannot even love yourself. If you love yourself you will introspect and find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nirmala-srivastava/unless-and-until-you-introspect-you-cannot-even-respect-yourself-you/)

[Nirmala Srivastava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nirmala-srivastava/)

> [“Let no one hope to find in contemplation an escape from conflict, from anguish or from doubt. On the contrary, the deep, inexpressible certitude…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/let-no-one-hope-to-find-in-contemplation-an-escape-from-conflict-from/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

> [We have a fear of facing ourselves. That is the obstacle. Experiencing the innermost core of our existence is very embarrassing to a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chogyam-trungpa/we-have-a-fear-of-facing-ourselves-that-is-the-obstacle-experiencing/)

[Chogyam Trungpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chogyam-trungpa/)

> [ “...even though \[my psychiatrist\] understood mor than anyone how much I felt I was losing--in energy, vivacity, and originality--by taking medication, he never was… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-redfield-jamison/even-though-my-psychiatrist-understood-mor-than-anyone-how-much-i/)

[Kay Redfield Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-redfield-jamison/)

> [“Mindfulness is an invitation to change that pattern and to become aware of where we are and how we got here. Mindfulness gives us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maia-duerr/mindfulness-is-an-invitation-to-change-that-pattern-and-to-become/)

[Maia Duerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maia-duerr/)

> [As in any machine, all the wires must be connected to the mains through one main wire. In the same way, you all must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nirmala-srivastava/as-in-any-machine-all-the-wires-must-be-connected-to-the-mains/)

[Nirmala Srivastava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nirmala-srivastava/)

> [Now the stage today is to know that Self Realization gives you experiences and then your faith is established. Not blind but open enlightened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nirmala-srivastava/now-the-stage-today-is-to-know-that-self-realization-gives-you/)

[Nirmala Srivastava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nirmala-srivastava/)

> [“But, like all indulgences that are valued not just for their product but for their process, the sento will never entirely disappear. For in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-eisler/but-like-all-indulgences-that-are-valued-not-just-for-their-product/)

[Barry Eisler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-eisler/)

> [It's still possible to savor the remarkable foods that millennia of human ingenuity have teased from milk. A sip of milk itself or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-mcgee/it-s-still-possible-to-savor-the-remarkable-foods-that-millennia-of/)

Harold McGee

[Browse all 7,091 Meditation quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meditation/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“People like me spend years learning the techniques of meditation. But you're a poet, and poets are born knowing the language of angels.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Madeleine L'Engle"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/people-like-me-spend-years-learning-the-techniques-of-meditation-but/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Meditation"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/people-like-me-spend-years-learning-the-techniques-of-meditation-but/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb9/madeleine-l-engle-345_meditation_people-like-me-spend-years-learning-the_2291532.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb9/madeleine-l-engle-345_meditation_people-like-me-spend-years-learning-the_2291532.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb9/madeleine-l-engle-345_meditation_people-like-me-spend-years-learning-the_2291532.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“People like me spend years learning the techniques of meditation. But you're a poet, and poets are born…” — Madeleine L'Engle",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Madeleine L'Engle",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“People like me spend years learning...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/people-like-me-spend-years-learning-the-techniques-of-meditation-but/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/people-like-me-spend-years-learning-the-techniques-of-meditation-but/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
