Twelve lines that nobody agrees on
Everybody thinks American poet Wallace Steven’s “Anecdote of the Jar” means something different. They get in yelling matches at conferences in swanky hotels.
Take 20 seconds and see what it means to you:
I placed a jar in Tennessee,
And round it was, upon a hill.
It made the slovenly wilderness
Surround that hill.
The wilderness rose up to it,
And sprawled around, no longer wild.
The jar was round upon the ground
And tall and of a port in air.
It took dominion everywhere.
The jar was gray and bare.
It did not give of bird or bush,
Like nothing else in Tennessee.
I think it means that if you do something truly remarkable, people will literally reimagine the world to fit you (and your remarkable vision) better.
Just like if you put a jar on a hill, people might start calling it “jar hill.” Even though the hill is ancient and huge. And the jar is small and was placed there recently.
Being remarkable can literally change the world around you. Everyone will believe in you and your vision. Then they’ll act out that belief and change the world.