--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: if you stay still, earth buries you…" description: "\"if you stay still, earth buries you, ready or not.\" — Annie Dillard" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c06/annie-dillard-509_earth_if-you-stay-still-earth-buries-you-ready_2511337.jpg" --- # if you stay still, earth buries you, ready or not. ![“if you stay still, earth buries you, ready or not.” quote by Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c06/annie-dillard-509_earth_if-you-stay-still-earth-buries-you-ready_2511337.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c06/annie-dillard-509_earth_if-you-stay-still-earth-buries-you-ready_2511337.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c06/annie-dillard-509_earth_if-you-stay-still-earth-buries-you-ready_2511337.jpg) > “if you stay still, earth buries you, ready or not.” [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Stagnation leads to being overwhelmed by circumstances; movement is essential. **In simple terms:** Standing still lets life bury you; keep moving. Key Takeaway Embrace change and stay active. Themes change movement life dynamics Mood reflective motivational Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - career development - personal growth - health and fitness - creative projects Key Concepts impermanence agency adaptation Questions to Reflect On - What forces keep you rooted? - How can you create momentum despite obstacles? A Different Perspective Some forces are beyond control, making movement insufficient. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Buries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buries-353391/) [Buries Ready](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buries-ready-1159865/) [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Earth Buries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth-buries-1159864/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Ready](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ready/) [Stay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stay/) [Stay Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stay-earth-1159866/) [Stills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stills/) ## Related quotes > [Why stay on the earth except to grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-browning/why-stay-on-the-earth-except-to-grow/) [Robert Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-browning/) > [You have a limited time to stay on earth. You must try to use that period for the purpose of transforming your country into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-mandela/you-have-a-limited-time-to-stay-on-earth-you-must-try-to-use-that/) [Nelson Mandela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-mandela/) > [The most important thing is to stay down to earth and keep concentrating on the next game.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arjen-robben/the-most-important-thing-is-to-stay-down-to-earth-and-keep/) [Arjen Robben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arjen-robben/) > [Clean air and water, a diversity of animal and plant species, soil and mineral resources, and predictable weather are annuities that will pay dividends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-steffen/clean-air-and-water-a-diversity-of-animal-and-plant-species-soil-and/) [Alex Steffen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-steffen/) > [“Why stay we on earth except to grow?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-browning/why-stay-we-on-earth-except-to-grow/) [Robert Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-browning/) > [I remind myself to stay down to earth so I can keep in touch with my audience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ginuwine/i-remind-myself-to-stay-down-to-earth-so-i-can-keep-in-touch-with-my/) [Ginuwine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ginuwine/) > [“I tell him I wish I could stay with him, but not here, not on Earth. Earth is the wrong place for me, always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ottessa-moshfegh/i-tell-him-i-wish-i-could-stay-with-him-but-not-here-not-on-earth/) [Ottessa Moshfegh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ottessa-moshfegh/) > [We kill time; time buries us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/machado-de-assis/we-kill-time-time-buries-us/) [Machado de Assis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/machado-de-assis/) > [Language buries, but it does not resurrect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/language-buries-but-it-does-not-resurrect/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [He buries gold who hides the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pythagoras/he-buries-gold-who-hides-the-truth/) [Pythagoras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pythagoras/) > [“So much history buried underneath. 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Language buries, but does not resurrect...I digress, but here's the rub: The dead are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/you-do-not-immortalize-the-lost-by-writing-about-them-language-buries-2/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) ## More by Annie Dillard > [Like everyone in his right mind, I feared Santa Claus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/like-everyone-in-his-right-mind-i-feared-santa-claus/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [“This is a spendthrift economy; though nothing is lost, all is spent.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/this-is-a-spendthrift-economy-though-nothing-is-lost-all-is-spent/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [The creatures I seek do not want to be seen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/the-creatures-i-seek-do-not-want-to-be-seen/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [Nothing moves a woman so deeply as the boyhood of the man she loves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/nothing-moves-a-woman-so-deeply-as-the-boyhood-of-the-man-she-loves/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [We live in all we seek. The hidden shows up in too-plain sight. It lives captive on the face of the obvious - the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/we-live-in-all-we-seek-the-hidden-shows-up-in-too-plain-sight-it/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [“...The mockingbird took a single step into the air and dropped. His wings were still folded against his sides as though he were singing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/the-mockingbird-took-a-single-step-into-the-air-and-dropped-his-wings/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [“Father had stretched out his long legs and was tilting back in his chair. Mother sat with her knees crossed, in blue slacks, smoking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/father-had-stretched-out-his-long-legs-and-was-tilting-back-in-his/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [I am a frayed and nibbled survivor in a fallen world, and I am getting along. I am aging and eaten and have done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/i-am-a-frayed-and-nibbled-survivor-in-a-fallen-world-and-i-am-getting/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [It should surprise no one that the life of the writer - such as it is - is colorless to the point of sensory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/it-should-surprise-no-one-that-the-life-of-the-writer-such-as-it-is/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [It is madness to wear ladies' straw hats and velvet hats to church; we should all be wearing crash helmets. Ushers should issue life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/it-is-madness-to-wear-ladies-straw-hats-and-velvet-hats-to-church-we/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [The sense impressions of one-celled animals are not edited for the brain. This is philosophically interesting in a rather mournful way, since it means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/the-sense-impressions-of-one-celled-animals-are-not-edited-for-the/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [“What can we make of the inexpressible joy of children? It is a kind of gratitude, I think—the gratitude of the ten-year-old who wakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/what-can-we-make-of-the-inexpressible-joy-of-children-it-is-a-kind-of/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [“If we were to judge nature by its common sense or likelihood, we wouldn't believe the world existed. In nature, improbabilities are the one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/if-we-were-to-judge-nature-by-its-common-sense-or-likelihood-we/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [For writing a first draft requires from the writer a peculiar internal state which ordinary life does not induce. ... how to set yourself spinning?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/for-writing-a-first-draft-requires-from-the-writer-a-peculiar/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [I am a fugitive and a vagabond, a sojourner seeking signs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/i-am-a-fugitive-and-a-vagabond-a-sojourner-seeking-signs/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) [Explore all 509 Annie Dillard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) ## More Earth quotes > [There is something more important than any ultimate weapon. That is the ultimate position-the position of total control over Earth that lies somewhere out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/there-is-something-more-important-than-any-ultimate-weapon-that-is/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/) [Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/) > [“The global population of Earth are involved in the following corporate government experiments: The long term effects of - 1. Nuclear bomb fallout radiation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/the-global-population-of-earth-are-involved-in-the-following/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [Mythology is something that always has opportunities to explore. 'It' has been on Earth for millions of years. He's been in contact with humans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-muschietti/mythology-is-something-that-always-has-opportunities-to-explore-it/) [Andy Muschietti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-muschietti/) > [Give me strength to walk the soft earth, a relative to all that is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/black-elk/give-me-strength-to-walk-the-soft-earth-a-relative-to-all-that-is/) [Black Elk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/black-elk/) > [I have lifted my plane . . . for perhaps a thousand flights and I have never felt her wheels glide from the Earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-markham/i-have-lifted-my-plane-for-perhaps-a-thousand-flights-and-i-have/) [Beryl Markham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beryl-markham/) > [Set NOT your hearts on the flowers of this world. They shall fade and die. Prize the Rose of Sharon and the Lily of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/set-not-your-hearts-on-the-flowers-of-this-world-they-shall-fade-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Then all this earth shines like one house.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramana-maharshi/then-all-this-earth-shines-like-one-house/) [Ramana Maharshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramana-maharshi/) > [When I get a chance to play golf or go on a boat with good people, take the boat out and put some lobsters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-mac/when-i-get-a-chance-to-play-golf-or-go-on-a-boat-with-good-people/) [Bernie Mac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-mac/) > [When man of slender visits you / Nothing on earth that one can do / In well he’ll hide, or watery hole / And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-goldstein/when-man-of-slender-visits-you-nothing-on-earth-that-one-can-do-in/) [Jack Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-goldstein/) > [Cities are 2% of the earth's crust, but they are 50% of the world's population.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlo-ratti/cities-are-2-of-the-earth-s-crust-but-they-are-50-of-the-world-s/) [Carlo Ratti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlo-ratti/) > [This, at last, was where things were as they ought to be. Everything was in its place -- the tree, the earth underneath, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-liedloff/this-at-last-was-where-things-were-as-they-ought-to-be-everything-was/) [Jean Liedloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-liedloff/) > [Bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. 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