Quotes by Mary Oliver

Mostly, I want to be kind. And nobody, of course, is kind,or mean, for a simple reason.

I saw what love might have donehad we loved in time.

Fear defeated me. And yet,not in faith and not in madnessbut with the courage I thoughtmy dream deserved,I stepped outside.

You must not ever stop being whimsical. And you must not, ever, give anyone else the responsibility for your life.

A dog can never tell you what she knows from thesmells of the world, but you know, watching her,that you knowalmost nothing.

All morning it has been raining.In the language of the garden, this is happiness.

It is better for the heart to break, than not to break.

Tell me, what is it you plan to dowith your one wild and precious life?

Someone I loved once gave me a box full of darkness. It took me years to understand that this too, was a gift.

You can have the other words—chance, luck, coincidence, serendipity. I'll take grace.

I simply do not distinguish between work and play.

I believe in kindness. Also in mischief. Also in singing, especially when singing is not.

You must not ever stop being whimsical. And you must not, ever, give anyone else.

Sometimes I need only to stand wherever I am to be blessed.

There is a thing in me that dreamed of trees.

When it's over, I want to say: all my life I was a bride married to amazement.

I don't want to end up simply having visited this world.

What is the greatest gift? Could it be the world itself?

Someone I loved once gave me a box full of darkness. It took me years to understand.

The storm begins, the wind howls, and the branches of the trees shake and shudder.

Every day I see or hear something that more or less kills me with delight.

Wild sings the bird of the heart in the forests of our lives.

It is a serious thing just to be alive on this fresh morning in this broken world.

Keep some room in your heart for the unimaginable.

Still, what I want in my life is to be willing to be dazzled.

Listen—are you breathing just a little, and calling it a life?

I am a woman whose love for God is alive in every season.

You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles.

Instructions for living a life. Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.

It is a serious thing – just to be alive – on this fresh morning – in this broken world.

Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?

To pay attention, this is our endless and proper work.