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I Cannot Understand Why My Arm Is Not A Lilac Tree.
-Leonard Cohen
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I Cannot Understand Why

Leonard Cohen
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I Cannot Understand Why My Arm Is Not A Lilac Tree.

Understanding the Quote: "i cannot understand why my arm is not a lilac tree...."

This quote by Leonard Cohen reflects deeply on the theme of tree. It connects to the universal human journey of purpose, motivation, and reflection. Often categorized under Tree, Arms, Lilac, the quote offers insight, emotional clarity, and intellectual inspiration to readers worldwide.

Whether you’re a student exploring new ideas, a leader trying to motivate your team, or someone seeking direction in life — this quote provides value. It resonates because it’s more than words — it’s a bridge between experience and wisdom. It shows how Leonard Cohen interprets life's core challenges and triumphs.

Lessons From the Quote

This quote teaches resilience and focus. It reminds readers that no matter where they stand in life, reflection and self-awareness lead to growth. Each word has meaning, and when studied, it becomes clear how impactful thoughtful language can be.

About Leonard Cohen

Leonard Cohen is celebrated for insightful thoughts on tree and arms. Their legacy lives on through writings that guide, comfort, and inspire. Discover more on their profile page.

Actionable Takeaways

  • Reflect on how this quote applies to your current life path.
  • Share the message with someone who needs inspiration.
  • Write your thoughts on this quote in a journal or blog post.
  • Use it as a daily affirmation or reminder.

Closing Thoughts

Quotes like this endure because they capture universal truths. They comfort us in solitude and empower us in groups. Carry this quote forward — live by its wisdom, share its message, and keep its essence alive.

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Topic
Tree
Arms
Lilac
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Devil
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Song
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Show Me Slowly What I Only Know The Limits Of Dance Me To The End Of Love
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Ends
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Sadness
Wish
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Arms
Lilac
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Dove
This Is The Most Challenging Activity That Humans Get Into, Which Is Love. You Know, Where We Have The Sense That We Can't Live Without Love. That Life Has Very Little Meaning Without Love.
Love You
Challenges
Littles
You Can Do Anything You Want To [ In Ashram] If You Can Find The Time. It's A Very Rigorous Day. It Starts At 2:30 In The Morning And Often Doesn't End Until Midnight, So If You Can Actually Find A Moment To Have A Drink Or A Smoke, You're Quite Welcome To, As Long As It Doesn't Interfere With Your Capacity To Follow The Schedule.
Morning
Long
Midnight
It's You My Love, You Who Are The Stranger.
Love You
Stranger
You Have Money, Fame, Youth, Beauty, Talent. That's A Good Start... For Feeling Good.
Feel Good
Feelings
Youth
Seriousness Is The Deepest Pleasure We Have.
Pleasure
Seriousness
To Every People The Land Is Given On Condition. Perceived Or Not, There Is A Covenant, Beyond The Constitution, Beyond Sovereign Guarantee, Beyond The Nation's Sweetest Dreams Of Itself.
Dream
Land
People
It Just Takes A Long Time For Me [to Write A Song]. I'm Very Slow. And It Comes, Kind Of, By Dribbles And Drops.
Song
Writing
Long
I Can't Run No More With That Lawless Crowd While The Killers In High Places Say Their Prayers Out Loud. But They've Summoned, They've Summoned Up A Thundercloud And They're Going To Hear From Me. Ring The Bells That Still Can Ring Forget Your Perfect Offering There Is A Crack In Everything That's How The Light Gets In.
Running
Prayer
Light
[prozac] Didn't Seem To Have Any Effect Whatsoever On My Melancholy, My Dark Vision, And Everything Else That I'd Taken It For.
Taken
Dark
Vision
I've Often Said If I Knew Where The Good Songs Came From, I'd Go There More Often.
Song
Said
Ifs
Yes, You Who Must Leave Everything That You Cannot Control, It Begins With Your Family, And Soon It Comes Round To Your Soul. Well I've Been Where You're Hanging, I Think I Can See How You're Pinned: When You're Not Feeling Holy Your Loneliness Says That You've Sinned.
Loneliness
Thinking
Soul
It Was A Dance Of Masks And Every Mask Was Perfect Because Every Mask Was A Real Face And Every Face Was A Real Mask So There Was No Mask And There Was No Face For There Was But One Dance In Which There Was But One Mask But One True Face Which Was The Same And Which Was A Thing Without A Name Which Changed And Changed Into Itself Over And Over.
Real
Names
Perfect
If You Want A Lover I'll Do Anything You Ask Me To. And If You Want Another Kind Of Love I'll Wear A Mask For You.
Want
Lovers
Kind
I Am Not The One Who Loves - It's Love That Chooses Me. When Hatred With His Package Comes, You Forbid Delivery...
Hatred
Choose Me
Delivery
I Am Running Through A Snowfall Which Is Her Thighs, He Dramatized In Purple. Her Thighs Are Filling Up The Street. Wide As A Snowfall, Heavy As Huge Falling Zeppelins, Her Damp Thighs Are Settling On The Sharp Roofs And Wooden Balconies. Weather-vanes Press The Shape Of Roosters And Sail-boats Into The Skin. The Faces Of Famous Statues Are Preserved Like Intaglios.
Running
Fall
Purple
In My Secret Life" "i Saw You This Morning, You Were Moving So Fast. Can't Seem To Loosen My Grip On The Past. And I Miss You So Much, There's No One In Sight. And We're Still Making Love In My Secret Life. I Smile When I Am Angry, I Cheat And I Lie, I Do What I Have To Do To Get By, In My Secret Life.
Morning
Lying
Moving
When You've Fallen On The Highway / And You're Lying In The Rain, / And They Ask You How You're Doing / Of Course You'll Say You Can't Complain.
Lying
Rain
Complaining
I Don't Consider Myself A Pessimist. I Think Of A Pessimist As Someone Who Is Waiting For It To Rain. And I Feel Soaked To The Skin.
Rain
Optimistic
Reality
A Woman Watches Her Body Uneasily, As Though It Were An Unreliable Ally In The Battle For Love.
Love
Battle
Allies
You Have To Keep Cracking Yourself Open Or You Become A Parody Of Yourself.
Parody
Probably All Cultures, Certainly Western Culture, Always Have Been Violent.
Western Culture
Violent
Has Beens
It's Four In The Morning, The End Of December I'm Writing You Now Just To See If You're Better.
Morning
Writing
Four
I Don't Think There's Any Difference Between A Crush And Profound Love. I Think The Experience Is That You Dissolve Your Sentries And Your Battalions For A Moment And You Really Do See That There Is This Unfixed Free-flowing Energy Of Emotion And Thought Between People, That It Really Is There.
Crush
Thinking
Differences
Other People Singing My Songs Is Something That I've Never Been Casual About. I've Always Been Very Touched By It And I Always Go Into Immediate Critical Suspension.
Song
People
Singing
Most Of The Time One Is Discouraged By The Work, But Now And Again By Some Grace Something Stands Out And Invites You To Work On It, To Elaborate It Or Animate It In Some Way. It's A Mysterious Process.
Grace
Way
Mysterious
We Are So Small Between The Stars, So Large Against The Sky.
Stars
Sky
Universe
When We Are Touched By A Song, It Is Because The Artist Cannot Hide Himself.
Song
Artist
Touched
A Saint Is Someone Who Has Achieved A Remote Human Possibility. It Is Impossible To Say What That Possibility Is. I Think It Has Something To Do With The Energy Of Love.
Thinking
Energy
Saint
I've Always Held The Song In High Regard Because Songs Have Got Me Through So Many Sinks Of Dishes And So Many Humiliating Courting Events.
Song
Events
Dishes
Everybody Knows That You've Been Faithful, Give Or Take A Night Or Two.
Night
Two
Giving
We Are Awakening From The Dream Of Isolation, From The Dream Of Loneliness, And It's A Terrible Shock.
Dream
Loneliness
Awakening
I Felt Like If Any Two People Had Any Kind Of Sexual Affinity For Each Other They Had To Sleep With Each Other Immediately, Otherwise It Was A Terrible Betrayal And Waste...fortunately, I'm Relieved Of Those Obsessions Now. It's Really Wonderful. It's Really Wonderful Not Feeling You Have To Sleep With Everybody.
Love
Betrayal
Sleep
A Community Is An Alibi For The Failure Of Individual Love.
Community
Individual
So The Great Affair Is Over But Whoever Would Have Guessed, It Would Leave Us All So Vacant And So Deeply Unimpressed, It's Like Our Visit To The Moon Or To That Other Star, I Guess You Go For Nothing If You Really Want To Go That Far.
Stars
Moon
Infidelity
Silence And A Deeper Silence When The Crickets Hesitate
Silence
Cricket
Deeper
From Bitter Searching Of The Heart, Quickened With Passion And With Pain We Rise To Play A Greater Part This Is The Faith From Which We Start.
Pain
Passion
Heart
When You Stop Thinking About Yourself All The Time, A Certain Sense Of Repose Overtakes You.
Thinking About You
Certain
About Yourself
Maybe There's A God Above, As For Me, All I've Ever Seemed To Learn From Love Is How To Shoot At Someone Who Outdrew You. Yeah But It's Not A Complaint That You Hear Tonight, It's Not The Laughter Of Someone Who Claims To Have Seen The Light No It's A Cold And It's A Very Lonely Hallelujah.
Lonely
Laughter
Love Is
I Swear By This Song And By All That I Have Done Wrong, I Will Make It All Up To Thee.
Song
Rock And Roll
Done
Hallelujah" "your Faith Was Strong But You Needed Proof. You Saw Her Bathing On The Roof. Her Beauty And The Moonlight Overthrew You. She Tied You To A Kitchen Chair, She Broke Your Throne, And She Cut Your Hair. And From Your Lips She Drew The Hallelujah.
Strong
Cutting
Hair
You Who Build These Altars Now To Sacrifice These Children , You Must Not Do It Anymore. A Scheme Is Not A Vision And You Never Have Been Tempted By A Demon Or A God .
Children
Sacrifice
Vision
I Want History To Jump On Canada's Spine With Sharp Skates.
Travel
Home
Want
I Guess You Go For Nothing, If You Really Want To Go That Far.
Sex
Want
Ifs
It's The Notion That There Is No Perfection - That There Is A Broken World And We Live With Broken Hearts And Broken Lives But Still There Is No Alibi For Anything. On The Contrary, You Have To Stand Up And Say Hallelujah Under Those Circumstances.
Life
Heart
Broken
Poetry Is Just The Evidence Of Life. If Your Life Is Burning Well, Poetry Is Just The Ash.
Writing
Poetry
Ashes
Any Of The Decisions That I Made, If One Could Actually Locate A Shape Or Form, Were All Within A Wall, The Landscape Of Music.
Wall
Decision
Shapes
It's Easy To Look Down From The Summit You've Reached, Or Even The Summit I've Reached, And Talk About The Responsibilities Of The Artist, But Most People Are Just Trying To Get Their Foot In The Door And Make A Living.
Responsibility
Artist
Doors
I Think What We Like About Music - And What We Like About Art In General....is That Enterprise That Stops Our Minds From Spinning. Because We're Always All Over The Place. A Good Song, A Good Lyric Is A Movie: It Will Just Focus And Calm And Confer Significance On This Completely Bewildering Reality That All Of Us Live In.
Song
Art
Reality
Your Servant Here, He Has Been Told To Say It Clear, To Say It Cold: It's Over, It Ain't Going Any Further And Now The Wheels Of Heaven Stop You Feel The Devil's Riding Crop Get Ready For The Future: It Is Murder
Heaven
Devil
Riding
The Big Change Is The Proximity To Death.
Proximity
Bigs
Big Changes
I Greet You From The Other Side Of Sorrow And Despair, With A Love So Vast And Shattered It Will Reach You Everywhere.
Sorrow
Despair
Sides
I Wish I Could Say Everything In One Word. I Hate All The Things That Can Happen Between The Beginning Of A Sentence And The End.
Hate
Wish
Ends
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