--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I've said before that every craftsman…" description: "\"I've said before that every craftsman searches for what's not there to practice his craft.\" — Rumi" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65b/rumi-56_crafts_i-ve-said-before-that-every-craftsman-se_1738268.jpg" --- # I've said before that every craftsman searches for what's… ![“I've said before that every craftsman searches for what's not there to practice his craft.” quote by Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65b/rumi-56_crafts_i-ve-said-before-that-every-craftsman-se_1738268.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65b/rumi-56_crafts_i-ve-said-before-that-every-craftsman-se_1738268.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65b/rumi-56_crafts_i-ve-said-before-that-every-craftsman-se_1738268.jpg) > “I've said before that every craftsman searches for what's not there to practice his craft.” [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A craftsman seeks the unseen to improve his skill, implying that true mastery involves exploring what is missing. **In simple terms:** Seek what is missing to improve. Key Takeaway Search for gaps to master craft. Themes creativity craftsmanship growth Mood inspired curious Type poetic motivational When to use this quote - artistic practice - design thinking - innovation workshops Key Concepts negative space skill development Questions to Reflect On - What missing element can you identify in your work? - How does embracing emptiness foster creativity? A Different Perspective May cause frustration if gaps seem unattainable. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Craft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/craft/) [Crafts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crafts/) [Craftsman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/craftsman/) [Craftsman Searches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/craftsman-searches-1495889/) [Emptiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emptiness/) [Practice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/practice/) [Practice Craft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/practice-craft-893939/) [Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/said/) [Said Craftsman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/said-craftsman-1495890/) ## Related quotes > [“practice her craft, she would lose”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexie-aaron/practice-her-craft-she-would-lose/) [Alexie Aaron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexie-aaron/) > [With practice the craft will come almost of itself, in spite of you and all the more easitly if you think of something besides…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-gauguin/with-practice-the-craft-will-come-almost-of-itself-in-spite-of-you/) [Paul Gauguin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-gauguin/) > [I think the more you practice any craft that you take up in life, the better you get at it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bhumika-chawla/i-think-the-more-you-practice-any-craft-that-you-take-up-in-life-the/) [Bhumika Chawla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bhumika-chawla/) > [ “\[Soetsu Yanagi's\] main criticism of individual craftsmen and modern artists is that they are overproud of their individualism. I think I am right in… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-leach/soetsu-yanagi-s-main-criticism-of-individual-craftsmen-and-modern/) [Bernard Leach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-leach/) > [There's hidden sweetness in the stomach's emptiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/there-s-hidden-sweetness-in-the-stomach-s-emptiness/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [There is an unseen sweetness in the stomach’s emptiness. We are lutes. When the sound box is filled, no music can come forth. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/there-is-an-unseen-sweetness-in-the-stomach-s-emptiness-we-are-lutes/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [There's a hidden sweetness in the stomach's emptiness. We are lutes, no more, no less. If the soundbox is stuffed full of anything, no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/there-s-a-hidden-sweetness-in-the-stomach-s-emptiness-we-are-lutes-no/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [Potter is jealous of potter, and craftsman of craftsman; and the poor have a grudge against the poor, and the poet against the poet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hesiod/potter-is-jealous-of-potter-and-craftsman-of-craftsman-and-the-poor/) [Hesiod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hesiod/) > [Nevertheless, the Tenth Commandment-'Thou shalt not covet'-recognizes that making money and owning things could become selfish activities. But it is not the creation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/nevertheless-the-tenth-commandment-thou-shalt-not-covet-recognizes/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [“If I demand to be both the craftsman and the tool, I will be neither.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/if-i-demand-to-be-both-the-craftsman-and-the-tool-i-will-be-neither/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [I grew up in a craftsman's home, where things were done with our own hands. I did cabinetmaking for four years and I hated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-zumthor/i-grew-up-in-a-craftsman-s-home-where-things-were-done-with-our-own/) [Peter Zumthor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-zumthor/) > [The movies today are too rich to have any room for genuine artists. They produce a few passable craftsmen, but no artists. Can you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/the-movies-today-are-too-rich-to-have-any-room-for-genuine-artists/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [If theory is the role of the architect, then such beautiful proofs are the role of the craftsman. Of course, as with the great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-atiyah/if-theory-is-the-role-of-the-architect-then-such-beautiful-proofs-are/) [Michael Atiyah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-atiyah/) > [“What is the difference between “creator” and “craftsman”? The one who creates bestows being itself, he brings something out of nothing— ex nihilo sui…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-john-paul-ii/what-is-the-difference-between-creator-and-craftsman-the-one-who/) [Pope John Paul II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-john-paul-ii/) > [My father was a very good craftsman. He made furniture, he made silverware and he had an incredible gift in terms of how you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-ive/my-father-was-a-very-good-craftsman-he-made-furniture-he-made/) [Jonathan Ive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-ive/) ## More by Rumi > [The love religion is all that is written here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/the-love-religion-is-all-that-is-written-here/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [And so it is, that both the Devil and the angelic Spirit present us with objects of desire to awaken our power of choice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/and-so-it-is-that-both-the-devil-and-the-angelic-spirit-present-us/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [We began as mineral. We emerged into plant life, and into the animal state, and then into being human, and always we have forgotten…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/we-began-as-mineral-we-emerged-into-plant-life-and-into-the-animal/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [There is a morning inside you waiting to burst open into light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/there-is-a-morning-inside-you-waiting-to-burst-open-into-light/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [Sometimes you hear a voice through the door calling you... This turning toward what you deeply love saves you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/sometimes-you-hear-a-voice-through-the-door-calling-you-this-turning/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [“You’ve so distracted me, your absence fans my love. Don’t ask how. Then you come near. “Do not…” I say, and “Do not…,” you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/you-ve-so-distracted-me-your-absence-fans-my-love-don-t-ask-how-then/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [There is something to be said for anyone who sits alone with dignity and silently begs for God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/there-is-something-to-be-said-for-anyone-who-sits-alone-with-dignity/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [Tis easy to break an idol, very easy: to regard the self as easy to subdue is folly, folly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/tis-easy-to-break-an-idol-very-easy-to-regard-the-self-as-easy-to/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [Today, let us swim wildly, joyously in gratitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/today-let-us-swim-wildly-joyously-in-gratitude/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [I have no name for what circles so perfectly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/i-have-no-name-for-what-circles-so-perfectly/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [What draws friends together does not conform to the laws of nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/what-draws-friends-together-does-not-conform-to-the-laws-of-nature/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [We are born of love. Love is our mother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/we-are-born-of-love-love-is-our-mother/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [Water, stories, the body, all the things we do, are mediums that hid and show what's hidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/water-stories-the-body-all-the-things-we-do-are-mediums-that-hid-and/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [If your heart isn't yet illumined Be awake always, be a seeker of the heart, Be at war continually with your carnal soul. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/if-your-heart-isn-t-yet-illumined-be-awake-always-be-a-seeker-of-the/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [“I came back to You because I could not find the kind and decent things I found in You anywhere else.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/i-came-back-to-you-because-i-could-not-find-the-kind-and-decent/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) [Explore all 1,818 Rumi quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) ## More Craft quotes > [As I progressed in the firm, I learnt the craft, and as I learnt my craft, my partners and the firm threw up different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/punit-renjen/as-i-progressed-in-the-firm-i-learnt-the-craft-and-as-i-learnt-my/) [Punit Renjen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/punit-renjen/) > [Learn your craft. You want to be a doctor or a teacher - it's very important to learn your craft and indulge in it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-horry/learn-your-craft-you-want-to-be-a-doctor-or-a-teacher-it-s-very/) [Robert Horry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-horry/) > [What I didn't know that by sticking to craft we would blow open some doors that I never saw opened before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-lipton/what-i-didn-t-know-that-by-sticking-to-craft-we-would-blow-open-some/) [James Lipton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-lipton/) > [All the craft skills that I have, I feel like I developed and honed in drama school. It's the most important thing for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-holland/all-the-craft-skills-that-i-have-i-feel-like-i-developed-and-honed-in/) [Andre Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-holland/) > [“There is something deeply satisfying in shaping something with your hands. Proper artificing is like a song made solid. It is an act of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/there-is-something-deeply-satisfying-in-shaping-something-with-your/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [I have a lot of fun working and training and learning and trying to figure out the different aspects of my craft.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jared-cannonier/i-have-a-lot-of-fun-working-and-training-and-learning-and-trying-to/) [Jared Cannonier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jared-cannonier/) > [I probably learned most of my craft from singing to the radio.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-b-schmit/i-probably-learned-most-of-my-craft-from-singing-to-the-radio/) [Timothy B. Schmit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-b-schmit/) > [The key to acting - from what little I know about that wonderful craft - is listening, and interacting with the other person in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gray/the-key-to-acting-from-what-little-i-know-about-that-wonderful-craft/) [James Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gray/) > [It is by losing himself in the objective, in inquiry, creation, and craft, that a man becomes something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-goodman/it-is-by-losing-himself-in-the-objective-in-inquiry-creation-and/) [Paul Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-goodman/) > [“The instruction here is not for every kind of writer - not for the writer of nurse books or thrillers or porno or the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gardner/the-instruction-here-is-not-for-every-kind-of-writer-not-for-the/) [John Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gardner/) > [I take a pretty expansive view of craft, which is to say I don't see craft as just being technique - it's also process;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-van-den-berg/i-take-a-pretty-expansive-view-of-craft-which-is-to-say-i-don-t-see/) [Laura van den Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-van-den-berg/) > [“Writing is a craft, being an author is work, and having readers and a following is a gift.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-j-kannengieser/writing-is-a-craft-being-an-author-is-work-and-having-readers-and-a/) [Michael J. Kannengieser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-j-kannengieser/) > [You need to know your craft.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorena-garcia/you-need-to-know-your-craft/) [Lorena Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorena-garcia/) > [I have developed my eye as a cinematographer through the craft of operating. When I am not operating, I am often anxious, uncertain, restless,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-richardson/i-have-developed-my-eye-as-a-cinematographer-through-the-craft-of/) [Robert Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-richardson/) > [Muscle is good, but craft is better](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wace/muscle-is-good-but-craft-is-better/) [Wace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wace/) [Browse all 514 Craft quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/craft/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I've said before that every craftsman searches for what's not there to practice his craft.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Rumi" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/i-ve-said-before-that-every-craftsman-searches-for-what-s-not-there/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Craft" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/i-ve-said-before-that-every-craftsman-searches-for-what-s-not-there/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65b/rumi-56_crafts_i-ve-said-before-that-every-craftsman-se_1738268.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65b/rumi-56_crafts_i-ve-said-before-that-every-craftsman-se_1738268.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65b/rumi-56_crafts_i-ve-said-before-that-every-craftsman-se_1738268.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I've said before that every craftsman searches for what's not there to practice his craft.” — Rumi", "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": "Rumi", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I've said before that every craftsman...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/i-ve-said-before-that-every-craftsman-searches-for-what-s-not-there/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/i-ve-said-before-that-every-craftsman-searches-for-what-s-not-there/#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 } } ] } ```