--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The only creative power I know is that of…" description: "\"The only creative power I know is that of what might roughly be called 'love'; not of course a sentimental love: a far more impersonal and less individ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c23/phyllis-bottome-8036_bird_the-only-creative-power-i-know-is-that-o_3222550.jpg" --- # The only creative power I know is that of what might… ![“The only creative power I know is that of what might roughly be called 'love'; not of course a sentimental love: a far more impersonal and less individual emotion. I sometimes think that migratory birds may have it for each other. They fly in the same direction, and have never been seen to…” quote by Phyllis Bottome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c23/phyllis-bottome-8036_bird_the-only-creative-power-i-know-is-that-o_3222550.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c23/phyllis-bottome-8036_bird_the-only-creative-power-i-know-is-that-o_3222550.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c23/phyllis-bottome-8036_bird_the-only-creative-power-i-know-is-that-o_3222550.jpg) > “The only creative power I know is that of what might roughly be called 'love'; not of course a sentimental love: a far more impersonal and less individual emotion. I sometimes think that migratory birds may have it for each other. They fly in the same direction, and have never been seen to interfere with each other's flights.” [Phyllis Bottome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-bottome/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Creative power stems from an impersonal, collective love akin to migratory birds' shared direction, not sentimental affection. **In simple terms:** True creativity is impersonal love. Key Takeaway Cultivate shared purpose over personal sentiment. Themes creativity love collective purpose Mood reflective inspired Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - team projects - community art - collaborative research - social movements Key Concepts impersonal emotion shared direction bird migration Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance personal identity with collective love? - What does impersonal love look like in your work? A Different Perspective May overlook individual needs in favor of group harmony. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bird/) [Creative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creative/) [Creative power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creative-power/) [Emotion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotion/) [Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Migratory birds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/migratory-birds/) [Sentimental](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sentimental/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [If fathers are sometimes sulky at the appearance of the destined son-in-law, is it not a fact that mothers become sentimental and, as it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/if-fathers-are-sometimes-sulky-at-the-appearance-of-the-destined-son/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [If you make a strange, eccentric record - like the Velvet Underground's 'White Light/White Heat' - it takes on its own mood because it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-barlow/if-you-make-a-strange-eccentric-record-like-the-velvet-underground-s/) [Lou Barlow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-barlow/) > [Taboos on the human heart are more dangerous than any risk we run by using our emotions. Sensation is the life of man; it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-bottome/taboos-on-the-human-heart-are-more-dangerous-than-any-risk-we-run-by/) [Phyllis Bottome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-bottome/) > [Life is the blossoming of flowers in the spring, the ripening of fruit in the fall, the rhythm of the earth and of nature.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daisaku-ikeda/life-is-the-blossoming-of-flowers-in-the-spring-the-ripening-of-fruit/) [Daisaku Ikeda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daisaku-ikeda/) > [Intuitions are like migratory birds, they come without a map without a reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-ray/intuitions-are-like-migratory-birds-they-come-without-a-map-without-a/) [Amit Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-ray/) > [Migratory birds connect people, ecosystems, and nations. 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Everything around me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/i-can-tell-that-in-refuge-the-question-that-was-burning-in-me-was-how/) [Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/) > [“Birds fly with their wings, people with their happiness!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/birds-fly-with-their-wings-people-with-their-happiness/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Surely, God could have caused birds to fly with their bones made of solid gold, with their veins full of quicksilver, with their flesh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galileo-galilei/surely-god-could-have-caused-birds-to-fly-with-their-bones-made-of/) [Galileo Galilei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galileo-galilei/) ## More by Phyllis Bottome > [Jane had that happy disposition which would like to imagine that every one really wishes the well-being of his neighbour and struggles, though sometimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-bottome/jane-had-that-happy-disposition-which-would-like-to-imagine-that/) [Phyllis Bottome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-bottome/) > [Neither situations nor people can be altered by the interference of an outsider. 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Think - it happens once only - to each of us - as birth does. What do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-bottome/death-is-not-a-great-affair-think-it-happens-once-only-to-each-of-us/) [Phyllis Bottome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-bottome/) > [Taboos on the human heart are more dangerous than any risk we run by using our emotions. Sensation is the life of man; it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-bottome/taboos-on-the-human-heart-are-more-dangerous-than-any-risk-we-run-by/) [Phyllis Bottome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-bottome/) > [... one pets what one degrades; and one has to support what one has enfeebled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-bottome/one-pets-what-one-degrades-and-one-has-to-support-what-one-has/) [Phyllis Bottome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-bottome/) > [Truth is no man's slave - but lies - what magnificent servants they make.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-bottome/truth-is-no-man-s-slave-but-lies-what-magnificent-servants-they-make/) [Phyllis Bottome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-bottome/) > [Marriage! ... Why, it is like living in a thimble with a hippopotamus!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-bottome/marriage-why-it-is-like-living-in-a-thimble-with-a-hippopotamus/) [Phyllis Bottome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-bottome/) > [Anger is like mild, it should not be kept too long.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-bottome/anger-is-like-mild-it-should-not-be-kept-too-long/) [Phyllis Bottome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-bottome/) > [People who talk of new lives believe there will be no new troubles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-bottome/people-who-talk-of-new-lives-believe-there-will-be-no-new-troubles/) [Phyllis Bottome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-bottome/) > [All persecution is a sign of fear; for if we did not fear the power of an opinion different from our own, we should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-bottome/all-persecution-is-a-sign-of-fear-for-if-we-did-not-fear-the-power-of/) [Phyllis Bottome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-bottome/) > [Love comes into your being like a tidal wave ... sometimes it withdraws like a wave, till there isn't such a thing as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-bottome/love-comes-into-your-being-like-a-tidal-wave-sometimes-it-withdraws/) [Phyllis Bottome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-bottome/) [Explore all 85 Phyllis Bottome quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-bottome/) ## More Bird quotes > [And I have been very blessed, having coached some of the greatest that have ever played the game. But if I had to start…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/red-auerbach/and-i-have-been-very-blessed-having-coached-some-of-the-greatest-that/) [Red Auerbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/red-auerbach/) > [Some minds corrode and grow inactive under the loss of personal liberty; others grow morbid and irritable; but it is the nature of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/some-minds-corrode-and-grow-inactive-under-the-loss-of-personal/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [Set the bird's wings with gold and it will never again soar in thesky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/set-the-bird-s-wings-with-gold-and-it-will-never-again-soar-in-thesky/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [“He unfixes the metal notch and slips his hand around the body of the bird. Feels its heat, its small heart beating. 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