653 Quotes by Mary Oliver

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

Everyone knows the great energies running amok castterrible shadows, that each of the so-calledsenseless acts has its thread loopingback through the world and into a human heart.

and anyway it’s just the same old story --a few people just trying,one way or another,to survive.Mostly, I want to be kind.And nobody, of course, is kind,or mean,for a simple reason.And nobody gets out of it, having toswim through the fires to stay inthis world.

People do it,some out of desperation,others out of greed.They steal.The very powerful and clever might steal a whole house,or a million dollars.It's been done.But what does it matter?Love is the one thing the heart cravesand love is the one thingyou can't steal.

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

Attention is the beginning of devotion.

Do you think the wren ever dreams of a better house?

Now the fire rises and offers a dozen, singing, deep-red roses of flame.

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