I take a simple view of life. It is keep your eyes open and get

When Laurence Sterne, the gentle humorist and philosopher of the eighteenth century, declared, “I take a simple view of life. It is keep your eyes open and get on with it,” he was offering not the counsel of a cynic, but the wisdom of a soul tempered by struggle, irony, and grace. Beneath the simplicity of his words lies a deep and ancient truth — that life, though filled with mystery and sorrow, is not to be feared or overanalyzed, but lived. Sterne, who spent much of his life in frail health and yet gave the world the joyful brilliance of Tristram Shandy, understood that to live fully is to awaken — to face the world with open eyes, open heart, and an unwavering will to continue.

The origin of this quote rests in Sterne’s peculiar genius for balancing humor and sorrow. He was a clergyman and a writer, a man who lived between wit and wisdom, laughter and pain. His novels were famous for their playfulness, yet beneath the laughter one senses a man who had seen the fragility of existence — the transience of joy, the inevitability of loss. “Keep your eyes open,” he wrote, because the world, in all its absurdity, still shimmers with meaning. “Get on with it,” because life does not wait for the fearful or the idle. To live is not to understand everything, but to continue despite not understanding. Sterne’s simplicity, therefore, is not ignorance — it is courage refined by acceptance.

In those few words, Sterne joins the company of the ancient sages. The Stoics of Greece and Rome, like Marcus Aurelius, taught that life offers no guarantees, only the opportunity to act with virtue in the face of uncertainty. “Keep your eyes open,” they would say, “to see reality as it is — without illusion, without denial.” And “get on with it,” for lamenting the weight of fate does not lessen it. Sterne’s sentiment mirrors that timeless philosophy: that the secret of peace is not escape, but engagement — not in endless contemplation, but in steadfast participation in the unfolding drama of the world.

To illustrate this, consider the life of Helen Keller, born in darkness and silence, yet destined to hear the music of the human spirit more clearly than most who see and speak. Stripped of the senses that connect us to the world, she nevertheless learned, through discipline and wonder, to “keep her eyes open” — not the eyes of the body, but of the soul. Her world was without sound, but not without meaning; without sight, but not without vision. And she “got on with it,” transforming her struggle into strength, her isolation into influence. Keller’s life, like Sterne’s wisdom, teaches that to awaken to the reality of life — however imperfect — is the first step toward greatness.

There is also quiet rebellion in Sterne’s quote. For to “keep your eyes open” is to resist the temptation to live blindly — to refuse comfort in illusion or denial. The world is full of people who sleep through their own existence, numbed by routine or distracted by vanity. Sterne calls us to live awake — to see beauty and injustice alike, to notice the fleeting tenderness of a morning breeze, the ache of a passing grief, the laughter that redeems a weary day. And to “get on with it” means to act — to move forward, even when the path is uncertain. It is the antidote to despair and the cure for paralysis. The wise do not wait for perfect clarity before they begin; they begin, and in doing so, they find clarity.

There is deep humility, too, in Sterne’s view. To “get on with it” does not mean to conquer the world, but to persevere through it — to take joy in small victories and grace in defeat. Life, he reminds us, is not a puzzle to be solved, but a journey to be walked. Keep your eyes open to its lessons, for every moment — even the painful ones — holds the seed of growth. Keep your eyes open to others, for compassion is the sight of the awakened heart. Keep your eyes open to yourself, for self-awareness is the beginning of wisdom.

The lesson, then, is as clear as the morning sun and as ancient as the stars: live simply, but live fully. Do not close your eyes to life’s harshness, nor be blinded by its glitter. See it for what it is — a fleeting gift — and respond not with complaint, but with courage. When hardship comes, keep your eyes open; when fortune smiles, keep your eyes humble. And whatever happens, get on with it. For in the end, the beauty of existence lies not in its comfort, but in the courage to face it honestly and move forward with grace.

So remember the wisdom of Laurence Sterne, that quiet teacher of endurance wrapped in wit: life does not pause for those who hesitate. Be awake, be aware, and be steadfast. Keep your eyes open — for truth, for beauty, for pain, for love — and whatever the road brings, walk it with a whole heart. For that, my child, is the truest simplicity, and the noblest art of living.