"Every experience is a paradox in that it means to be absolute, and yet is relative; in that it somehow always goes beyond itself and yet never escapes itself"

T.S. Eliot's quote looks into the intricate nature of human experience, exploring how each moment or event we come across is intricately layered with both definitive and relative components. His paradoxical assertion speaks volumes about the complex nature of how we perceive and engage with the world around us.

The phrase "every experience is a paradox in that it indicates to be outright, and yet is relative" addresses the duality in our understanding of events. Each experience seeks efficiency; it feels all-encompassing at the minute it happens. For example, joy, pain, or surprise can seem intense, providing a sense of outright truth in that immediate. However, no experience exists in seclusion. Every individual encounter or occasion is framed within the more comprehensive context of time, culture, individual understanding, and memory, making it naturally relative. This relativity recommends that while we might feel an experience's intensity as outright, its significance can differ based upon point of view and situation.

Eliot continues with "it in some way constantly surpasses itself and yet never leaves itself", highlighting how experiences naturally transcend their instant occurrence. They affect future ideas, actions, and decisions, suggesting that the implications of any occasion extend beyond the minute it takes place. This 'going beyond' means that experiences contribute to our continuous personal advancement, feeding into a larger story or understanding of life.

Yet, paradoxically, experiences also "never escape" themselves, staying confined by their nature. Each encounter, while prominent, is particular and isolated in its essence and can only be accessed through reflection or memory. This principle suggests a sense of permanence and impermanence; experiences are ephemeral in their incident however lasting in their effect.

In essence, Eliot's quote captures the extensive and typically inconsistent nature of human experiences: instantly extreme yet retrospectively malleable, particular yet universal, short-term yet sustaining. This duality makes our individual stories both complex and distinctively enriching as they form who we are and how we understand the world.