--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Sometimes we are blessed with being able…" description: "\"Sometimes we are blessed with being able to choose the time, and the arena, and the manner of our revolution, but more usually we must do battle where ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/539/audre-lorde-758_able_sometimes-we-are-blessed-with-being-able_2019551.jpg" --- # Sometimes we are blessed with being able to choose the… ![“Sometimes we are blessed with being able to choose the time, and the arena, and the manner of our revolution, but more usually we must do battle where we are standing.” quote by Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/539/audre-lorde-758_able_sometimes-we-are-blessed-with-being-able_2019551.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/539/audre-lorde-758_able_sometimes-we-are-blessed-with-being-able_2019551.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/539/audre-lorde-758_able_sometimes-we-are-blessed-with-being-able_2019551.jpg) > “Sometimes we are blessed with being able to choose the time, and the arena, and the manner of our revolution, but more usually we must do battle where we are standing.” [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. We often cannot pick the perfect moment or setting for change, yet we must act wherever we find ourselves. **In simple terms:** Change must happen wherever we are. Key Takeaway Act now, wherever you stand. Themes activism resilience agency Mood determined urgent Type motivational inspirational When to use this quote - workplace activism - community organizing - personal growth - political protest Key Concepts intersectionality social justice personal empowerment Questions to Reflect On - How can you create impact in your current situation? - What barriers can you transform into opportunities? A Different Perspective Ideal conditions are rare; waiting can waste opportunities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Battle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/battle/) [Blessed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blessed/) [Revolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolution/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [Usually in a battle sequence when a bomb is going off, you forget you're acting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-sheen/usually-in-a-battle-sequence-when-a-bomb-is-going-off-you-forget-you/) [Charlie Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-sheen/) > [“The first moment someone calls for a revolution is usually the last moment I take them seriously.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/the-first-moment-someone-calls-for-a-revolution-is-usually-the-last/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [Revolution is usually a bloody affair. Our Revolution of 1911 did not shed much blood because our people are a peace-loving people. This peace-loving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-yat-sen/revolution-is-usually-a-bloody-affair-our-revolution-of-1911-did-not/) [Sun Yat-sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-yat-sen/) > [I started on a very high note and I was alwasy able to choose. I want to be able to do that until my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-bloom/i-started-on-a-very-high-note-and-i-was-alwasy-able-to-choose-i-want/) [Claire Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-bloom/) > [I always wanted to be an actor and I'd never dreamt that not only would I be able to do this for a living,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/i-always-wanted-to-be-an-actor-and-i-d-never-dreamt-that-not-only/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) > [They seemed to be able to choose. We seemed to be able to choose, then. We were a society dying of too much choice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/they-seemed-to-be-able-to-choose-we-seemed-to-be-able-to-choose-then-2/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [You're not always able to choose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatoly-chubais/you-re-not-always-able-to-choose/) [Anatoly Chubais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatoly-chubais/) > [Being able to choose the skin I live in was the draw of fashion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-london/being-able-to-choose-the-skin-i-live-in-was-the-draw-of-fashion/) [Stacy London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-london/) > [I do a lot of decision making before each shoot. It's a luxury to be able to choose what you do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-testino/i-do-a-lot-of-decision-making-before-each-shoot-it-s-a-luxury-to-be/) [Mario Testino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-testino/) > [I made a conscious decision to earn enough to be able to choose my husband rather than not have a career and marry someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-beeny/i-made-a-conscious-decision-to-earn-enough-to-be-able-to-choose-my/) [Sarah Beeny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-beeny/) > [“I am a Freedom Seeker, willing and able to choose my own path.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-kempton/i-am-a-freedom-seeker-willing-and-able-to-choose-my-own-path/) [Beth Kempton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-kempton/) > [We are able to choose what we want - you don't have to accept one thing from one tradition. It's a melting pot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-lesser/we-are-able-to-choose-what-we-want-you-don-t-have-to-accept-one-thing/) [Elizabeth Lesser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-lesser/) > [In Hollywood, the ... basic freedom of being able to choose between alternatives is absent. The gifted people who have the capacity for choice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hortense-powdermaker/in-hollywood-the-basic-freedom-of-being-able-to-choose-between/) [Hortense Powdermaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hortense-powdermaker/) > [“They seemed to be able to choose. We seemed to be able to choose, then. We were a society dying, said Aunt Lydia, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/they-seemed-to-be-able-to-choose-we-seemed-to-be-able-to-choose-then/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [The led must not be compelled; they must be able to choose their own leader.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/the-led-must-not-be-compelled-they-must-be-able-to-choose-their-own/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) ## More by Audre Lorde > [Every woman I have ever loved has left her print upon me, where I loved some invaluable piece of myself apart from me-so different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/every-woman-i-have-ever-loved-has-left-her-print-upon-me-where-i/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [There are many kinds of open. . . Love is a word, another kind of open. . . Take my word for jewel in your open light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/there-are-many-kinds-of-open-love-is-a-word-another-kind-of-open-take/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [Your silence will not protect you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/your-silence-will-not-protect-you/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [I can't really define it in sexual terms alone although our sexuality is so energizing why not enjoy it too?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/i-can-t-really-define-it-in-sexual-terms-alone-although-our-sexuality/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [“For once we begin to feel deeply all the aspects of our lives, we begin to demand from ourselves and from our life-pursuits that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/for-once-we-begin-to-feel-deeply-all-the-aspects-of-our-lives-we/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [the fear of death is that you are dying too soon. Nobody wants to, but at the point that you die you can pray…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/the-fear-of-death-is-that-you-are-dying-too-soon-nobody-wants-to-but/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [“There is an important difference between openness and naïveté. Not everyone has good intentions nor means me well. I remind myself I do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/there-is-an-important-difference-between-openness-and-na-vet-not/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [What are the words you do not yet have? What do you need to say? What are the tyrannies you swallow day by day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/what-are-the-words-you-do-not-yet-have-what-do-you-need-to-say-what/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [I learned to read from Mrs. Augusta Baker, the children's librarian. ... If that was the only good deed that lady ever did in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/i-learned-to-read-from-mrs-augusta-baker-the-children-s-librarian-if/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [Poetry is not only dream and vision; it is the skeleton architecture of our lives. It lays the foundations for a future of change,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/poetry-is-not-only-dream-and-vision-it-is-the-skeleton-architecture/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [“I think that in America there are certain kinds of problems and in Russia there are certain kinds of problems, but basically, when you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/i-think-that-in-america-there-are-certain-kinds-of-problems-and-in/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [Institutionalized rejection of differences is an absolute necessity in a profit economy which needs outsiders as surplus people. As members of such an economy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/institutionalized-rejection-of-differences-is-an-absolute-necessity/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [The sharing of joy, whether physical, emotional, psychic, or intellectual, forms a bridge between the sharers which can be the basis for understanding much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/the-sharing-of-joy-whether-physical-emotional-psychic-or-intellectual/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [“I forgot what we were celebrating. Because we were always celebrating something, a new job, a new poem, a new love, a new dream.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/i-forgot-what-we-were-celebrating-because-we-were-always-celebrating/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [How a diamond comes into a knot of flame How a sound comes into a word, coloured By who pays what for speaking. Some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/how-a-diamond-comes-into-a-knot-of-flame-how-a-sound-comes-into-a/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) [Explore all 377 Audre Lorde quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) ## More Able quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. If you don't accept it and you're having a conversation with someone who does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/there-is-something-about-the-south-that-accepts-the-supernatural-if/) [Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/) > [In the '80s, the way radio was programmed, if you didn't have a hit record you weren't going to be able to make any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huey-lewis/in-the-80s-the-way-radio-was-programmed-if-you-didn-t-have-a-hit/) [Huey Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huey-lewis/) > [I think I've had the longest career of strength, focus, and still being able to sell records. I think I'm that guy. I'm still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nas/i-think-i-ve-had-the-longest-career-of-strength-focus-and-still-being/) [Nas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nas/) > [I have that need in me, I want everyone to love me, but I'm embarrassed by that need, so I wanted to cover it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-jeselnik/i-have-that-need-in-me-i-want-everyone-to-love-me-but-i-m-embarrassed/) [Anthony Jeselnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-jeselnik/) > [Thinking about the things that happened, I don't know any other ball player would could have done what he (Jackie Robinson) did. To be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pee-wee-reese/thinking-about-the-things-that-happened-i-don-t-know-any-other-ball/) [Pee Wee Reese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pee-wee-reese/) > [I wanted to remember in order to be able to return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/i-wanted-to-remember-in-order-to-be-able-to-return/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [Government schools, with your tax money, now discourage the teaching of multiplication tables by rote memorization but teach reading by the 'look-and-say' method which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-perry/government-schools-with-your-tax-money-now-discourage-the-teaching-of/) Greg Perry > [I don't know if I would qualify as mainstream. I think I have managed to function pretty successfully on the fringes of the music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-metheny/i-don-t-know-if-i-would-qualify-as-mainstream-i-think-i-have-managed/) [Pat Metheny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-metheny/) > [What we're supposed to do as actors is be able to portray real human beings and emotions. And if you grow up in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-browning/what-we-re-supposed-to-do-as-actors-is-be-able-to-portray-real-human/) [Emily Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-browning/) > [The reason that Apple is able to create products like iPad is because we always try to be at the intersection of technology and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/the-reason-that-apple-is-able-to-create-products-like-ipad-is-because/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [It was an important period for us, because even though we weren't a "punk band", and what became a model for a punk band,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-mallinder/it-was-an-important-period-for-us-because-even-though-we-weren-t-a/) [Stephen Mallinder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-mallinder/) > [- You look fine. - Right. I look fine. Except I don't, said Zora, tugging sadly at her man's nightshirt. This was why Kiki…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/you-look-fine-right-i-look-fine-except-i-don-t-said-zora-tugging/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [There is a way to be a woman, ask for what we deserve and be able to negotiate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracee-ellis-ross/there-is-a-way-to-be-a-woman-ask-for-what-we-deserve-and-be-able-to/) [Tracee Ellis Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracee-ellis-ross/) Browse all 17,257 Able quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Sometimes we are blessed with being able to choose the time, and the arena, and the manner of our revolution, but more usually we must do battle where we are standing.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Audre Lorde" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/sometimes-we-are-blessed-with-being-able-to-choose-the-time-and-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Able" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/sometimes-we-are-blessed-with-being-able-to-choose-the-time-and-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/539/audre-lorde-758_able_sometimes-we-are-blessed-with-being-able_2019551.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/539/audre-lorde-758_able_sometimes-we-are-blessed-with-being-able_2019551.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/539/audre-lorde-758_able_sometimes-we-are-blessed-with-being-able_2019551.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Sometimes we are blessed with being able to choose the time, and the arena, and the manner of our…” — Audre Lorde", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Audre Lorde", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Sometimes we are blessed with being...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/sometimes-we-are-blessed-with-being-able-to-choose-the-time-and-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/sometimes-we-are-blessed-with-being-able-to-choose-the-time-and-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```