--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But there was a discipline, it was just…" description: "\"“But there was a discipline, it was just that we didn't understand. We thought he was formless, but I think now he was tormented by order, what was out..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a09/michael-ondaatje-940_discipline_but-there-was-a-discipline-it-was-just-t_819732.jpg" --- # But there was a discipline, it was just that we didn't… ![“But there was a discipline, it was just that we didn't understand. We thought he was formless, but I think now he was tormented by order, what was outside it. He tore apart the plot - see his music was immediately on top of his own life. Echoing. As if, when he was playing he was lost and hunting…” quote by Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a09/michael-ondaatje-940_discipline_but-there-was-a-discipline-it-was-just-t_819732.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a09/michael-ondaatje-940_discipline_but-there-was-a-discipline-it-was-just-t_819732.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a09/michael-ondaatje-940_discipline_but-there-was-a-discipline-it-was-just-t_819732.jpg) > ““But there was a discipline, it was just that we didn't understand. We thought he was formless, but I think now he was tormented by order, what was outside it. He tore apart the plot - see his music was immediately on top of his own life. Echoing. As if, when he was playing he was lost and hunting for the right accidental notes. Listening to him was like talking to Coleman. You were both changing direction with every sentence, sometimes in the middle, using each other as a springboard through the dark. You were moving so fast it was unimportant to finish and clear everything. He would be describing something in 27 ways. There was pain and gentleness everything jammed into each number.”” [Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The musician’s creative process is chaotic, driven by an inner conflict between order and freedom, producing intense, fragmented expression. **In simple terms:** Creative chaos stems from inner tension between order and freedom. Key Takeaway Embrace disorder to unlock authentic expression. Themes creativity conflict expression music art Mood intense reflective inspired Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - composing - performing - listening - collaborating - teaching Key Concepts psychology improvisation dualism Questions to Reflect On - How does tension fuel your creativity? - Can you find balance between order and spontaneity? A Different Perspective The approach may be overwhelming for those who prefer structure. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Discipline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discipline/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) ## Related quotes > [Listening to it was like having a mud-slimed piece of silk drawn lightly back and forth across her face.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/listening-to-it-was-like-having-a-mud-slimed-piece-of-silk-drawn/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Hip-hop to me right now is really easy listening. It's very easy listening, like there's nothing abrasive about it. There's no album that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pusha-t/hip-hop-to-me-right-now-is-really-easy-listening-it-s-very-easy/) [Pusha T](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pusha-t/) > [Having teens of my own, who let me just add, I am not trying to impress. I come into contact with a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shweta-bachchan-nanda/having-teens-of-my-own-who-let-me-just-add-i-am-not-trying-to-impress/) [Shweta Bachchan Nanda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shweta-bachchan-nanda/) > [I nod like I’m listening,like we’re communicating, and she never knows the difference.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-halse-anderson/i-nod-like-i-m-listening-like-we-re-communicating-and-she-never-knows/) [Laurie Halse Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-halse-anderson/) > [I suppose I don't hear things, but I listen, if you know what I mean. And there is a big difference between hearing and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-glennie/i-suppose-i-don-t-hear-things-but-i-listen-if-you-know-what-i-mean/) [Evelyn Glennie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-glennie/) > [ “\[He\]talks so fast that listening to him is like trying to read Playboy magazine with your wife turning the pages.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-goldwater/he-talks-so-fast-that-listening-to-him-is-like-trying-to-read-playboy/) [Barry Goldwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-goldwater/) > [I can't listen to music while I'm doing something else. Well, unless I'm working out. But I, like, fall off the treadmill all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-thile/i-can-t-listen-to-music-while-i-m-doing-something-else-well-unless-i/) [Chris Thile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-thile/) > [Hubert Humphrey talks so fast that listening to him is like trying to read Playboy magazine with your wife turning the pages.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-goldwater/hubert-humphrey-talks-so-fast-that-listening-to-him-is-like-trying-to/) [Barry Goldwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-goldwater/) > [Eminem. 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Nothing much of lasting value ever happens at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/what-is-interesting-and-important-happens-mostly-in-secret-in-places/) [Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/) > [There's more danger in the violence you don't face.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/there-s-more-danger-in-the-violence-you-don-t-face/) [Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/) > [From this point on, she whispered, we will either find or lose our souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/from-this-point-on-she-whispered-we-will-either-find-or-lose-our-souls/) [Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/) > [“You know it is the most relaxed thing when you when you sit with a best friend and you know there is nothing you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/you-know-it-is-the-most-relaxed-thing-when-you-when-you-sit-with-a/) [Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/) > [“There was no control except the " mood of his power... and it is for this reason it is good you never heard him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/there-was-no-control-except-the-mood-of-his-power-and-it-is-for-this/) [Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/) > [You're getting everyone's point of view at the same time, which for me, is the perfect state for a novel: a cubist state, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/you-re-getting-everyone-s-point-of-view-at-the-same-time-which-for-me/) [Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/) > [I see the poem or the novel ending with an open door.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/i-see-the-poem-or-the-novel-ending-with-an-open-door/) [Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/) > [“The Time Around Scars: A girl whom I've not spoken to or shared coffee with for several years writes of an old scar. On…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/the-time-around-scars-a-girl-whom-i-ve-not-spoken-to-or-shared-coffee/) [Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/) > [“- Daca ti-as incredinta viata mea, ai scapa-o pe jos. Nu-i asa?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/daca-ti-as-incredinta-viata-mea-ai-scapa-o-pe-jos-nu-i-asa/) [Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/) [Explore all 322 Michael Ondaatje quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/) ## More Discipline quotes > [Christianity was never meant to be defined by its disciplines, but by its passions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-johnson/christianity-was-never-meant-to-be-defined-by-its-disciplines-but-by/) [Bill Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-johnson/) > [Grit and self-control are related, but they're not the same thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-duckworth/grit-and-self-control-are-related-but-they-re-not-the-same-thing/) [Angela Duckworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-duckworth/) > [“Peace requires a discipline more iron than war. - Easter, 1939 ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-j-turner/peace-requires-a-discipline-more-iron-than-war-easter-1939/) W.J. Turner > [You can't have the fruits without the roots. It's the principle of sequencing: Private Victories proceed Public Victories. Self-mastery and self-discipline are the foundation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-covey/you-can-t-have-the-fruits-without-the-roots-it-s-the-principle-of/) [Stephen Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-covey/) > [Like a child exploring the attic of an old house on a rainy day, discovering a trunk full of treasure and then calling all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-h-peterson/like-a-child-exploring-the-attic-of-an-old-house-on-a-rainy-day/) [Eugene H. Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-h-peterson/) > [Exercise teaches you the pleasure of discipline.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-fonda/exercise-teaches-you-the-pleasure-of-discipline/) [Jane Fonda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-fonda/) > [I'm always writing. I'm an obsessive. It's not because I'm a disciplined person. It's because I'm crazy about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanif-kureishi/i-m-always-writing-i-m-an-obsessive-it-s-not-because-i-m-a/) [Hanif Kureishi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanif-kureishi/) > [“I felt like praying or something, when I was in bed, but I couldn't do it. I can't always pray when I feel like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/i-felt-like-praying-or-something-when-i-was-in-bed-but-i-couldn-t-do/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [The undisciplined child enters into discipline by working in the company of others; not being told he is naughty.” “Discipline is, therefore, primarily a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/the-undisciplined-child-enters-into-discipline-by-working-in-the/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [“Proverbs from the East: The wind howls, but the mountain remains still. 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There's a season for sowing a season for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-ryan-blair/self-discipline-is-an-act-of-cultivation-it-require-you-to-connect/) [Gary Ryan Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-ryan-blair/) > [The individual, by means of the discipline imposed on him by sport, not only plays and finds relaxation from the various compulsions to which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-ellul/the-individual-by-means-of-the-discipline-imposed-on-him-by-sport-not/) [Jacques Ellul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-ellul/) > [Cheerfulness in most cheerful people is the rich and satisfying result of strenuous discipline.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-percy-whipple/cheerfulness-in-most-cheerful-people-is-the-rich-and-satisfying/) [Edwin Percy Whipple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-percy-whipple/) > [Stay in your seat come times of trouble. Its only people who jump off the roller coaster who get hurt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-harvey/stay-in-your-seat-come-times-of-trouble-its-only-people-who-jump-off/) [Paul Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-harvey/) [Browse all 5,597 Discipline quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discipline/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“But there was a discipline, it was just that we didn't understand. We thought he was formless, but I think now he was tormented by order, what was outside it. He tore apart the plot - see his music was immediately on top of his own life. Echoing. As if, when he was playing he was lost and hunting for the right accidental notes. Listening to him was like talking to Coleman. You were both changing direction with every sentence, sometimes in the middle, using each other as a springboard through the dark. You were moving so fast it was unimportant to finish and clear everything. 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