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
We all have a hungry heart, and one of the things we hunger for is happiness. So as much as I possibly could, I stayed where I was happy.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the universal desire for happiness and the importance of prioritizing places and situations that bring joy.
Mary Oliver's quote reflects the innate human yearning for happiness and suggests that individuals should strive to remain in environments that nurture this feeling. By recognizing our 'hungry heart', she encourages us to prioritize our emotional well-being and make conscious choices that lead us to experiences of joy and contentment.
Themes
HappinessJoyWell-BeingLife Choices
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech about choosing happiness over stress, one might reference this quote.
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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