--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Perhaps the more benign and poetic sense…" description: "\"Perhaps the more benign and poetic sense of God is established when we are babies in the moments of primal joy we might call 'the epiphanies of infancy..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a33/michael-leunig-2274_assimilate_perhaps-the-more-benign-and-poetic-sense_1963340.png" --- # Perhaps the more benign and poetic sense of God is… ![“Perhaps the more benign and poetic sense of God is established when we are babies in the moments of primal joy we might call 'the epiphanies of infancy' - the sensation of being blissfully held and feeling complete and at one with everything - yet having no words or no need to say it but instead…” quote by Michael Leunig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a33/michael-leunig-2274_assimilate_perhaps-the-more-benign-and-poetic-sense_1963340.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a33/michael-leunig-2274_assimilate_perhaps-the-more-benign-and-poetic-sense_1963340.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a33/michael-leunig-2274_assimilate_perhaps-the-more-benign-and-poetic-sense_1963340.png) > “Perhaps the more benign and poetic sense of God is established when we are babies in the moments of primal joy we might call 'the epiphanies of infancy' - the sensation of being blissfully held and feeling complete and at one with everything - yet having no words or no need to say it but instead to just assimilate the feeling.” [Michael Leunig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-leunig/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Describes a pure, wordless divine feeling experienced in infancy as a poetic notion of God. **In simple terms:** Infant bliss as a sense of God. Key Takeaway Recognize non‑verbal spiritual moments. Themes spirituality childhood poetry Mood gentle contemplative Type philosophical poetic When to use this quote - parenting - philosophical reflection - artistic expression Key Concepts transcendence ineffability Questions to Reflect On - How can we articulate ineffable experiences? - What role does childhood play in spirituality? A Different Perspective The description is highly subjective. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Babies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/babies/) [Being](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being/) [Epiphanies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/epiphanies/) [God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god/) [Infancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/infancy/) [Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joy/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Poetic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetic/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words/) ## Related quotes > [What a magical thing is the bed, and what a vulnerable, innocent creature is the sleeping human - the human who never looks more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-leunig/what-a-magical-thing-is-the-bed-and-what-a-vulnerable-innocent/) [Michael Leunig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-leunig/) > [“I am billionaire bold bright omnipotent lively determined to go within to win opening my omnific eyes to realize wisdom innovation naturalizes… My cascading…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-wilson/i-am-billionaire-bold-bright-omnipotent-lively-determined-to-go/) Robert A. Wilson > [“I'm not usually sold on epiphanies. I am more interested in the opposite experience: not those rare moments of startling insight or realization, but-what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-atwan/i-m-not-usually-sold-on-epiphanies-i-am-more-interested-in-the/) Robert Atwan > [Gratitude bestows reverence, allowing us to encounter everyday epiphanies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/gratitude-bestows-reverence-allowing-us-to-encounter-everyday/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) > [If you have too many epiphanies, you're on some kind of drug.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-diller/if-you-have-too-many-epiphanies-you-re-on-some-kind-of-drug/) [Barry Diller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-diller/) > [In reality, genuine epiphanies are extremely rare. In contemporary adult life maturation & acquiescence to reality are gradual processes. Modern usage usually deploys epiphany…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/in-reality-genuine-epiphanies-are-extremely-rare-in-contemporary/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [I have epiphanies all the time, because I'm always thinking. I'm a thinker. I'm always writing poetry, I'm always coming to conclusions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chrisette-michele/i-have-epiphanies-all-the-time-because-i-m-always-thinking-i-m-a/) [Chrisette Michele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chrisette-michele/) > [By an epiphany he meant a sudden spiritual manifestation, whether in the vulgarity of speech or of gesture or memorable phrase of the mind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/by-an-epiphany-he-meant-a-sudden-spiritual-manifestation-whether-in/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [“There's a moment when you realise all your worst fears have come true. 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And be patient.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-caine/you-have-to-schedule-your-epiphanies-and-be-patient/) [Rachel Caine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-caine/) > [You are lucky if you have one or two epiphanies in your life, particularly a creative one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-carter/you-are-lucky-if-you-have-one-or-two-epiphanies-in-your-life/) [Keith Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-carter/) > [One of the epiphanies I had was that I got into publishing because I love literature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-pavone/one-of-the-epiphanies-i-had-was-that-i-got-into-publishing-because-i/) [Chris Pavone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-pavone/) ## More by Michael Leunig > [In my journey as a cartoonist, I seem to have accidentally stumbled into all sorts of traps, damnations and blacklists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-leunig/in-my-journey-as-a-cartoonist-i-seem-to-have-accidentally-stumbled/) [Michael Leunig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-leunig/) > [Have I got the right to experiment with my child's life?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-leunig/have-i-got-the-right-to-experiment-with-my-child-s-life/) [Michael Leunig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-leunig/) > [There are only two feelings, Love and fear: There are only two languages, Love and fear: There are only two activities, Love and fear:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-leunig/there-are-only-two-feelings-love-and-fear-there-are-only-two/) [Michael Leunig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-leunig/) > [If European symbols and traditions have grown tired, perfunctory and oppressively banal in Australia, or been drained of spirit and meaning by the dreary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-leunig/if-european-symbols-and-traditions-have-grown-tired-perfunctory-and/) [Michael Leunig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-leunig/) > [Socialised humanity represses nature and degrades human nature; it takes life and waters it down - probably to control it - diluting existence with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-leunig/socialised-humanity-represses-nature-and-degrades-human-nature-it/) [Michael Leunig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-leunig/) > [I became a cartoonist because I'd sort of failed at everything else, really. 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It misses its mother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-leunig/if-you-know-anything-about-ducks-you-know-a-baby-duck-will-imprint/) [Michael Leunig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-leunig/) > [I think melancholy is part of the natural condition, you know. Anyway, I think it's the artist's function to have their melancholy and not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-leunig/i-think-melancholy-is-part-of-the-natural-condition-you-know-anyway-i/) [Michael Leunig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-leunig/) > [At last, after completing year 12, I failed the great final examination, repeated the following year and failed again even more dismally than before.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-leunig/at-last-after-completing-year-12-i-failed-the-great-final-examination/) [Michael Leunig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-leunig/) [Explore all 175 Michael Leunig quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-leunig/) ## More Assimilate quotes > [First, I was opposed to gay marriage because it seemed like one more way that gays were wanting to assimilate. When I realized the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-white/first-i-was-opposed-to-gay-marriage-because-it-seemed-like-one-more/) [Edmund White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-white/) > [“It's a fact— everyone is ignorant in some way or another. Ignorance is our deepest secret. And it is one of the scariest things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-nazarian/it-s-a-fact-everyone-is-ignorant-in-some-way-or-another-ignorance-is/) [Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-nazarian/) > [I've deliberately studied many things that I know, going in, I won't be able to assimilate. 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Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-y-davis/) > [“If you aren't destroying your enemies, it's because you have been conquered and assimilated, you do not even have an idea of who your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/if-you-aren-t-destroying-your-enemies-it-s-because-you-have-been/) [Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/) > [Assimilate all you can from tradition and then say things in your own way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-french-sloan/assimilate-all-you-can-from-tradition-and-then-say-things-in-your-own/) [John French Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-french-sloan/) > [Assimilate this! -Worf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/star-trek/assimilate-this-worf/) Star Trek > [I tried to assimilate and mix myself in with everybody, but I still stood out because of my mannerisms, the way I spoke, my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-goreski/i-tried-to-assimilate-and-mix-myself-in-with-everybody-but-i-still/) [Brad Goreski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-goreski/) > [Especially for young POC, when we enter majority-white spaces, we feel the need to assimilate, to blend in, to prove ourselves. 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