I try to be good but sometimes a person just has to break out and act like the wild and springy thing one used to be. It's impossible not to remember wild an want it back.
Mary OliverRead
Emerson, I am trying to live, as you said we must, the examined life. But there are days I wish there was less in my head to examine, not to speak of the busy heart.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects the struggle of introspection versus the desire for simplicity in life.
Mary Oliver expresses the challenge of striving for a thoughtful and reflective existence, as advised by Emerson, while also grappling with the overwhelming thoughts and emotions that accompany such an examination. It highlights the tension between the pursuit of a meaningful life and the burdens that come with deep introspection, suggesting a longing for a quieter mind and heart amidst the complexities of living.
Themes
IntrospectionPhilosophyEmotionsReflectionLife
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used as a reflection prompt in a yoga class focused on mindfulness.
More from Mary Oliver
All quotes →At the time I was growing up, literature was involved with the so-called confessional poets. And I was not interested in that. I did not think that specific and personal perspective functioned well for the reader at all.
Mary OliverRead
I know the sag of the unfinished poem. And I know the release of the poem that is finished.
Mary OliverRead
For poems are not words, after all, but fires for the cold, ropes let down to the lost, something as necessary as bread in the pockets of the hungry.
Mary OliverRead
If I have any lasting worth, it will be because I have tried to make people remember what the Earth is meant to look like.
Mary OliverRead
Every day I see or hear something that more or less kills me with delight, that leaves me like a needle in the haystack of light.
Mary OliverRead
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