--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I am not here only so that the blind…" description: "\"I am not here only so that the blind might see, but to teach those who thought they could see that they are blind\" — Norman Mailer" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/57d/norman-mailer-839_blind_i-am-not-here-only-so-that-the-blind-mig_2413939.png" --- # I am not here only so that the blind might see, but to… ![“I am not here only so that the blind might see, but to teach those who thought they could see that they are blind” quote by Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/57d/norman-mailer-839_blind_i-am-not-here-only-so-that-the-blind-mig_2413939.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/57d/norman-mailer-839_blind_i-am-not-here-only-so-that-the-blind-mig_2413939.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/57d/norman-mailer-839_blind_i-am-not-here-only-so-that-the-blind-mig_2413939.png) > “I am not here only so that the blind might see, but to teach those who thought they could see that they are blind” [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Blindness is both literal and metaphorical; true insight comes from recognizing one’s own limitations. **In simple terms:** Seeing beyond illusion. Key Takeaway Seek self‑awareness. Themes philosophy perception humility Mood reflective inquisitive Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - education - leadership - personal development - coaching Key Concepts metaphor self‑knowledge illusion critical thinking Questions to Reflect On - What blind spots affect your decisions? - How can you test your assumptions? A Different Perspective Self‑deception can be hard to confront. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Blind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blind/) ## Related quotes > [“That’s what they should teach us here, he thought, turning over on to his side, how girls’ brains work”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/that-s-what-they-should-teach-us-here-he-thought-turning-over-on-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I remember my uncle and my father telling me that my mother didn't want me because I was blind. She thought being blind was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronnie-milsap/i-remember-my-uncle-and-my-father-telling-me-that-my-mother-didn-t-2/) [Ronnie Milsap](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronnie-milsap/) > [I simply state that I'm a product of a versatile mind in a restless generation-with every reason to throw my mind and pen in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/i-simply-state-that-i-m-a-product-of-a-versatile-mind-in-a-restless/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [Do you know, it's funny, but I never thought of being blind as a disadvantage, and I never thought of being black as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-wonder/do-you-know-it-s-funny-but-i-never-thought-of-being-blind-as-a/) [Stevie Wonder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-wonder/) > [“I've often thought a blind man could find his way through London simply by gauging the changes in innuendo: mild through Trafalgar Square, less…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-bayard/i-ve-often-thought-a-blind-man-could-find-his-way-through-london/) [Louis Bayard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-bayard/) > [“But, my God, how could I have thought it? How could I have been so blind, when everything had been taken by another already,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/but-my-god-how-could-i-have-thought-it-how-could-i-have-been-so-blind/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [Someone at the Fringe thought I was blind in the first year because that was how little I had my eyes open onstage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivo-graham/someone-at-the-fringe-thought-i-was-blind-in-the-first-year-because/) [Ivo Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivo-graham/) > [“Thought without practice is empty; and action without thought is blind." (The other 'quote' has it backwards.)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-nkrumah/thought-without-practice-is-empty-and-action-without-thought-is-blind/) [Kwame Nkrumah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-nkrumah/) > [“...perhaps he thought that when the blind people could no longer see the images, the images should not be able to see the blind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/perhaps-he-thought-that-when-the-blind-people-could-no-longer-see-the/) [José Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [I remember my uncle and my father telling me that my mother didn't want me because I was blind. She thought being blind was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronnie-milsap/i-remember-my-uncle-and-my-father-telling-me-that-my-mother-didn-t/) [Ronnie Milsap](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronnie-milsap/) > [So the blind will lead the blind, and the deaf shout warnings to one another until their voices are lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/so-the-blind-will-lead-the-blind-and-the-deaf-shout-warnings-to-one/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [What's the condition of America like, spiritually, tonight? Zero. Why? Because we've got blind men coming out of seminaries. Men there don't teach them;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-ravenhill/what-s-the-condition-of-america-like-spiritually-tonight-zero-why/) [Leonard Ravenhill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-ravenhill/) > [That we are selfish gives us the opportunity to gain the power so that, in time, we might be selfless. To give back what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cho/that-we-are-selfish-gives-us-the-opportunity-to-gain-the-power-so/) [Margaret Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cho/) > [The poem might come to you as you're preparing to teach a lecture, right? And when you say, "no" to that occasion, that poem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-geok-lin-lim/the-poem-might-come-to-you-as-you-re-preparing-to-teach-a-lecture/) [Shirley Geok-lin Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-geok-lin-lim/) > [I have thoroughly tried school-keeping, and found that my expenses were in proportion, or rather out of proportion, to my income,for I was obliged…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-have-thoroughly-tried-school-keeping-and-found-that-my-expenses/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) ## More by Norman Mailer > [Conservatives are people who look at a tree and feel instinctively that it is more beautiful than anything they can name. But when it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/conservatives-are-people-who-look-at-a-tree-and-feel-instinctively/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [There's a subterranean impetus towards pornography so powerful that half the business world is juiced by the sort of half sex that one finds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/there-s-a-subterranean-impetus-towards-pornography-so-powerful-that/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [So the blind will lead the blind, and the deaf shout warnings to one another until their voices are lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/so-the-blind-will-lead-the-blind-and-the-deaf-shout-warnings-to-one/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [Writing for a newspaper is like running a revolutionary war. You go to battle not when you are ready, but when action offers itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/writing-for-a-newspaper-is-like-running-a-revolutionary-war-you-go-to/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [I would introduce myself if it were not useless. The name I had last night will not be the same as the name I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/i-would-introduce-myself-if-it-were-not-useless-the-name-i-had-last/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [“City Point is so beautiful, she says. In the night they cannot see the garbage that litters the beach, the seaweed and driftwood, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/city-point-is-so-beautiful-she-says-in-the-night-they-cannot-see-the/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [“I find it’s more fun to write about something that you don’t know completely and that you will discover on route. A dear friend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/i-find-it-s-more-fun-to-write-about-something-that-you-don-t-know/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [Short-term amnesia is not the worst affliction if you have an Irish flair for the sauce.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/short-term-amnesia-is-not-the-worst-affliction-if-you-have-an-irish/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [Part of the oncoming demise (of New York during its terrible fiscal crisis) is that none of us can simply believe it. We were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/part-of-the-oncoming-demise-of-new-york-during-its-terrible-fiscal/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [I have always had this very strong, call it a feeling, call it a prejudice, call it a conviction ... that the mysteries are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/i-have-always-had-this-very-strong-call-it-a-feeling-call-it-a/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [I do believe that America's deepest political sickness is that it is a self-righteous nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/i-do-believe-that-america-s-deepest-political-sickness-is-that-it-is/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [America is a hurricane, and the only people who do not hear the sound are those fortunate if incredibly stupid and smug White Protestants…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/america-is-a-hurricane-and-the-only-people-who-do-not-hear-the-sound/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [Armstrong, sitting in the commander's seat, spacesuit on, helmet on, plugged into electrical and environmental umbilical's, is a man who is not only a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/armstrong-sitting-in-the-commander-s-seat-spacesuit-on-helmet-on/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [I was thinking that surgeons had to be the happiest people on earth. To cut people up and get paid for it-that's happiness, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/i-was-thinking-that-surgeons-had-to-be-the-happiest-people-on-earth/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [Movies are more likely than literature to reach deep feelings in people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/movies-are-more-likely-than-literature-to-reach-deep-feelings-in/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) [Explore all 355 Norman Mailer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) ## More Blind quotes > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [Love is so blind, it feels right when it's wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beyonce-knowles/love-is-so-blind-it-feels-right-when-it-s-wrong/) [Beyonce Knowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beyonce-knowles/) > [... Arthur Gride, whose bleared eyes gloated only over the outward beauties, and were blind to the spirit which reigned within, evinced - a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/arthur-gride-whose-bleared-eyes-gloated-only-over-the-outward/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“A man who saw has turned blind, A hearer deaf, A leader now leads astray!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miriam-lichtheim/a-man-who-saw-has-turned-blind-a-hearer-deaf-a-leader-now-leads-astray/) [Miriam Lichtheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miriam-lichtheim/) > [“What I shall feel to-morrow I cannot tell. Maybe I shall go blind again, for women are never two days alike in their minds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-parker/what-i-shall-feel-to-morrow-i-cannot-tell-maybe-i-shall-go-blind/) [Gilbert Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-parker/) > [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/) > [The more I produce, the less I am certain. On the road along which the artist walks, night falls ever more densely. Finally, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-more-i-produce-the-less-i-am-certain-on-the-road-along-which-the/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [“The heart’s blind. It’s the head that causes all the trouble. Sometimes both are stupid.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-bromberg/the-heart-s-blind-it-s-the-head-that-causes-all-the-trouble-sometimes/) [K. Bromberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-bromberg/) > [“In the story of the blind men and the elephant, what’s usually ignored is the fact that each man’s description was correct. What Faye…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-hill/in-the-story-of-the-blind-men-and-the-elephant-what-s-usually-ignored/) [Nathan Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-hill/) > [My favorite performance would definitely be "Toxic," which was my blind audition song. It was the start of it all and it was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melanie-martinez/my-favorite-performance-would-definitely-be-toxic-which-was-my-blind/) [Melanie Martinez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melanie-martinez/) > [Our attitude towards evil must be freed from hatred, and has itself need to be enlightened in character...Satan rejoices when he succeeds in inspiring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikolai-berdyaev/our-attitude-towards-evil-must-be-freed-from-hatred-and-has-itself/) [Nikolai Berdyaev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikolai-berdyaev/) > [If you are the master be sometimes blind, if you are the servant be sometimes deaf.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-buckminster-fuller/if-you-are-the-master-be-sometimes-blind-if-you-are-the-servant-be/) [R. Buckminster Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-buckminster-fuller/) > [I'm glad I'm blind and can't see it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-wonder/i-m-glad-i-m-blind-and-can-t-see-it/) [Stevie Wonder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-wonder/) > [Shut your eyes and you will know what I mean by thought entombed in darkness. Light comes through the senses, and not only through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lindbergh/shut-your-eyes-and-you-will-know-what-i-mean-by-thought-entombed-in/) [Charles Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lindbergh/) > [Blind with love, my daughter has cried nightly for horses, those long-necked marchers and churners that she has mastered, any and all, reigning them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/blind-with-love-my-daughter-has-cried-nightly-for-horses-those-long/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) [Browse all 3,877 Blind quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blind/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I am not here only so that the blind might see, but to teach those who thought they could see that they are blind", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Norman Mailer" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/i-am-not-here-only-so-that-the-blind-might-see-but-to-teach-those-who/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Blind" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/i-am-not-here-only-so-that-the-blind-might-see-but-to-teach-those-who/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/57d/norman-mailer-839_blind_i-am-not-here-only-so-that-the-blind-mig_2413939.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/57d/norman-mailer-839_blind_i-am-not-here-only-so-that-the-blind-mig_2413939.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/57d/norman-mailer-839_blind_i-am-not-here-only-so-that-the-blind-mig_2413939.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I am not here only so that the blind might see, but to teach those who thought they could see that they are…” — Norman Mailer", "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": "Norman Mailer", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I am not here only so...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/i-am-not-here-only-so-that-the-blind-might-see-but-to-teach-those-who/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/i-am-not-here-only-so-that-the-blind-might-see-but-to-teach-those-who/#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 } } ] } ```