Quotes by Mary Oliver

• Believe in the magic of new beginnings, for every sunrise brings the opportunity to start afresh.
• Strength lies in embracing the unique essence that makes you, you, and not in conforming to the molds of society.
• I worked probably 25 years by myself, just writing and working, not trying to publish much, not giving readings.
• As a child, what captivated me was reading the poems myself and realizing that there was a world without material substance which was nevertheless as alive as any other.
• Almost anything is too much. I am trying in my poems to have the reader be the experiencer. I do not want to be there. It is not even a walk we take together.
• If I've done my work well, I vanish completely from the scene. I believe it is invasive of the work when you know too much about the writer.
• Writers sometimes give up what is most strange and wonderful about their writing - soften their roughest edges - to accommodate themselves toward a group response.
• I have a notion that if you are going to be spiritually curious, you better not get cluttered up with too many material things.
• I love the line of Flaubert about observing things very intensely. I think our duty as writers begins not with our own feelings, but with the powers of observing.
• I have a notebook with me all the time, and I begin scribbling a few words. When things are going well, the walk does not get anywhere; I finally just stop and write.
• I was very careful never to take an interesting job. If you have an interesting job, you get interested in it.
• Poetry isn't a profession, it's a way of life. It's an empty basket; you put your life into it and make something out of that.
• When it's over, I want to say: all my life I was a bride married to amazement. I was the bridegroom, taking the world into my arms.
• So this is how you swim inward. So this is how you flow outwards. So this is how you pray.
• To live in this world, you must be able to do three things: to love what is mortal; to hold it against your bones knowing your own life depends on it; and, when the time comes to let it go, to let it go.
• My first two books are out of print and, okay, they can sleep there comfortably. It's early work, derivative work.
• In college, you learn how to learn. Four years is not too much time to spend at that.
• To pay attention, this is our endless and proper work.
• I simply do not distinguish between work and play.
• To be kind is to spread light in a world that can sometimes be engulfed in darkness.
• Life is a journey, not a race. Take your time, enjoy the scenery, and remember that the detours often lead to the most beautiful destinations.
• Life is a journey, not a destination. Embrace the challenges and cherish the moments along the way.
• Life is a journey, not a destination; travel with purpose, learn along the way, and cherish every step of the path.
• Embrace the messiness of life, for it is in the chaos that we find our true beauty.
• To see the beauty of a flower, one must embrace both its growth and its imperfections.
• Embrace the chaos of life and watch as it transforms into your greatest masterpiece.
• Find strength in the storms, for it is during the harshest weather that roots grow deeper.
• Strength lies not in resistance, but in resilience; in the ability to adapt and evolve amidst life's challenges.
• Life is a journey, not a race. Take your time to enjoy the view.
• Life is a journey, not a destination; embrace the detours and marvel at the unexpected sights along the way.
• Embrace the chaos of the unknown, for within it lies the potential for great growth and transformation.
• Do not let fear of failure silence the whisper of your dreams.
• Life's greatest rewards often come from embracing uncertainty and taking bold leaps of faith.
• Life is a journey, not a destination. Embrace the detours along the way with an open heart and curious mind.
• Life is a journey, not a destination. Embrace the unknown and cherish every step along the way.
• Trust in the journey, even when you can't see the way.
• Life is a journey, not a destination. Embrace the detours and delays, for they often lead us to unexpected adventures.
• A ship is safest at shore but that is not what it's built for.
• To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong
• As long as you're dancing, you can break the rules. Sometimes breaking the rules is just extending the rules.
• Eat cake for breakfast, because life is too short for regrets.
• Embrace the glorious mess that you are and transform the chaos into creativity.