“A person who discreetly farts in an elevator is not a divine being, and a man needs to know this.”
Explore This Quote Further
Analysis of Quote by Robert Bly
In this humorous quote, Robert Bly highlights the importance of not putting people on a pedestal. By using the example of someone discreetly farting in an elevator, Bly emphasizes the fact that everyone, regardless of their status or perceived qualities, is ultimately human and has their own flaws. This quote serves as a reminder to maintain a sense of humility and to not idolize individuals beyond reason.
Modern Relevance of Robert Bly's Quote
In today's society, the quote by Robert Bly serves as a reminder that even those in positions of power or influence are not infallible. It highlights the importance of humility and understanding that everyone, regardless of status, is capable of making mistakes or behaving inappropriately. The quote also emphasizes the need for self-awareness and consideration of others in all situations.
Awkward Elevator Moments
"A person who discreetly farts in an elevator is not a divine being, and a man needs to know this.” - Robert Bly. Elevators can be a tense environment, especially when someone lets one rip. It's important to remember to maintain manners even in tight spaces.
Reflection Questions:
In the words of Robert Bly, how do you interpret the idea that a person who discreetly farts in an elevator is not a divine being? How does this statement relate to the concept of humility and self-awareness? Can you think of a situation in your own life where recognizing your own humanity and imperfections has been important?
Similar quotes
“IT IS SO EASY TO GIVE INI have been thinking about the man who gives in.Have you heard about him? In this storyA twenty-eight-foot pine meets a small windAnd the pine bends all the way over to the ground.I was persuaded,” the pine says. “It was convincing.”A mouse visits a cat, and the cat agreesTo drown all her children. “What could I do?”The cat said. “The mouse needed that.”It’s strange. I’ve heard that some people conspireIn their own ruin. A fool says, “You don’tDeserve to live.” The man says, “I’ll string this ropeOver that branch, maybe you can find a box.”The Great One with her necklace of skulls says,I need twenty thousand corpses.” “Tell you what,”The General says, “we have an extra battalionOver there on the hill. We don’t need all these men.”
“BAD PEOPLEA man told me once that all the bad peopleWere needed. Maybe not all, but your fingernailsYou need; they are really claws, and we knowClaws. The sharks—what about them?They make other fish swim faster. The hard-faced menIn black coats who chase you for hoursIn dreams—that’s the only way to get youTo the shore. Sometimes those hard womenWho abandon you get you to say, “You.”A lazy part of us is like a tumbleweed.It doesn’t move on its own. Sometimes it takesA lot of Depression to get tumbleweeds moving.Then they blow across three or four States.This man told me that things work together.Bad handwriting sometimes leads to new ideas;And a careless god—who refuses to let peopleEat from the Tree of Knowledge—can leadTo books, and eventually to us. We writePoems with lies in them, but they help a little.”
“When a man says to a woman, "You are my anima," she should quickly scream and run out of the room. The word anima has neither the greatness of the Woman with Golden Hair nor the greatness of an ordinary woman, who wants to be loved as a woman.”
“What does it mean when a man falls in love with a radiant face across the room? It may mean that he has some soul work to do. His soul is the issue. Instead of pursuing the woman and trying to get her alone, away from her husband, he needs to go alone himself, perhaps to a mountain cabin, for three months, write poetry, canoe down a river, and dream. That would save some women a lot of trouble.”
“The inner boy in a messed-up family may keep on being shamed, invaded, disappointed, and paralyzed for years and years. "I am a victim," he says, over and over; and he is. But that very identification with victimhood keeps the soul house open and available for still more invasions. Most American men today do not have enough awakened or living warriors inside to defend their soul houses. And most people, men or women, do not know what genuine outward or inward warriors would look like, or feel like.”
“They wrote to me and said something about it, and I said that if it doesn't involve any work, I'll do it. (On being named Minnesota's first Poet Laureate)”