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
I don't ask for the sights in front of me to change, only the depth of my seeing.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes the importance of perspective and depth of understanding rather than changing external circumstances.
Mary Oliver's quote encourages introspection and the cultivation of a deeper awareness of the world around us. Instead of wishing for the external environment or situations to transform, which is often beyond our control, she suggests that we should focus on enhancing our perception and understanding of what is already present. This shift in perspective can lead to more profound insights and appreciation in our lives.
Themes
PerspectiveAwarenessUnderstandingPerceptionInsight
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about personal growth, you might cite this quote to encourage others to focus on their inner development.
More from Mary Oliver
All quotes βAt 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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