Quotessence
Home / Quotes / Quote by Idries Shah

Quote by Idries Shah

Work

Caravan of Dreams

In this fictional narrative, a diverse group of travelers embark on a quest that intertwines their dreams and realities, leading to profound personal growth and discovery. more

Author

Idries Shah
Idries Shah

Idries Shah was a renowned author known for his dissemination of Eastern philosophy and wisdom. His works blend Sufism, Eastern mysticism, and Western philosophy, aiming to promote human wisdom and inner growth. Shah's books include 'The Sufi Path of Love' and 'The Power of Silence'. more

You May Also Like

“Watch out, brother,' his professor had told him more than once, 'you have talent; it would be a sin to ruin it. But you're impatient. Some one thing entices you, some one thing takes your fancy––and you occupy yourself with it, and the rest can rot, you don't care about it, you don't even want to look at it. Watch out you don't turn into a fashionable painter. Even now your colors are beginning to cry a bit too loudly. Your drawing is imprecise, and sometimes quite weak, the line doesn't show; you go for fashionable lighting, which strikes the eye at once. Watch out or you'll fall into the English type. Beware. You already feel drawn to the world: every so often I see a showy scarf on your neck, a glossy hat ... It's enticing, you can start painting fashionable pictures, little portraits for money. But that doesn't develop talent, it ruins it. Be patient. Ponder over every work, drop showiness––let the others make money. You won't come out the loser.”

ArtPatienceTemptationDedicationFashionable
Book:The Collected Tales of Nikolai Gogol
Create image

“I played God today And it was fun! I made animals that men had never seen So they would stop and scratch their heads Instead of scowling. I made words that men had never heard So they would stop and stare at me Instead of running. And I made love that laughed So men would giggle like children Instead of sighing. Tomorrow, perhaps, I won't be God And you will know it Because you won't see any three-headed cats Or bushes with bells on... I wish I could always play God So that lonely men could laugh!”

Poetry
Book:There Are Men Too Gentle to Live Among Wolves
Create image

“So he could not be hasty or impatient. If he pushed forward impulsively, he would fail to see the signs and omens left by God along his path. God placed them along my path. He had surprised himself with the thought. Until then, he had considered the omens to be things of this world, Like eating or sleeping, or like seeking love or finding a job. he had never thought of them in terms of a language used by God to indicate what he should do.”

GodInspirationPatienceGuidance
Book:The Alchemist
Create image