--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A bird in the hand loses its mystery in…" description: "\"“A bird in the hand loses its mystery in no time flat.”\" — Barbara Kingsolver" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbf/barbara-kingsolver-200_bird_a-bird-in-the-hand-loses-its-mystery-in_2474451.png" --- # A bird in the hand loses its mystery in no time flat. ![“A bird in the hand loses its mystery in no time flat.” quote by Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbf/barbara-kingsolver-200_bird_a-bird-in-the-hand-loses-its-mystery-in_2474451.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbf/barbara-kingsolver-200_bird_a-bird-in-the-hand-loses-its-mystery-in_2474451.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbf/barbara-kingsolver-200_bird_a-bird-in-the-hand-loses-its-mystery-in_2474451.png) > ““A bird in the hand loses its mystery in no time flat.”” [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Possessing something reduces its intrigue and wonder over time. **In simple terms:** Having it makes it less mysterious. Key Takeaway Appreciate what you have without taking it for granted. Themes appreciation value mystery Mood thoughtful insightful Type literary wisdom When to use this quote - gift giving - relationships - collecting Key Concepts materialism psychology existentialism Questions to Reflect On - Do you notice this in your life? - How can you maintain wonder? A Different Perspective Overvaluation can diminish appreciation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bird/) [Mystery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mystery/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [Each person is an enigma. You're a puzzle not only to yourself but also to everyone else, and the great mystery of our time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-zeldin/each-person-is-an-enigma-you-re-a-puzzle-not-only-to-yourself-but/) [Theodore Zeldin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-zeldin/) > [That great mystery of TIME, were there no other; the illimitable, silent, never-resting thing called Time, rolling, rushing on, swift, silent, like an all-embracing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/that-great-mystery-of-time-were-there-no-other-the-illimitable-silent/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [“mystery another time. Or better yet, she would try harder to ignore it. “What”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-lawson-timmer/mystery-another-time-or-better-yet-she-would-try-harder-to-ignore-it/) [Julie Lawson Timmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-lawson-timmer/) > [A bird in the hand may be worth two in the bush, but remember also that a bird in the hand is a positive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-ade/a-bird-in-the-hand-may-be-worth-two-in-the-bush-but-remember-also/) [George Ade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-ade/) > [“A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glynn-stewart/a-bird-in-the-hand-is-worth-two-in-the-bush/) [Glynn Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glynn-stewart/) > [As they say - a bird in the hand is worth one in the bush.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/micky-quinn/as-they-say-a-bird-in-the-hand-is-worth-one-in-the-bush/) Micky Quinn > [“A bird in the hand is worth two in the bushes”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mildred-stallworth/a-bird-in-the-hand-is-worth-two-in-the-bushes/) Mildred Stallworth > [“I was a fool,' I say, because I might as well admit it. 'I gave up the bird in my hand for two in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-black/i-was-a-fool-i-say-because-i-might-as-well-admit-it-i-gave-up-the/) [Holly Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-black/) > [“A bird in the hand is worth plucking, frying, and sticking between two bits of bread.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-burns/a-bird-in-the-hand-is-worth-plucking-frying-and-sticking-between-two/) [Edward Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-burns/) > [A bird in hand is a certainty. But a bird in the bush may sing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-harte/a-bird-in-hand-is-a-certainty-but-a-bird-in-the-bush-may-sing/) [Bret Harte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-harte/) > [“You can lead a horse to water but a bird in hand can't fool me twice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-leland-taylor/you-can-lead-a-horse-to-water-but-a-bird-in-hand-can-t-fool-me-twice/) [Robert Leland Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-leland-taylor/) > [“A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush…unless the bird has the flu!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ankala-subbarao/a-bird-in-the-hand-is-worth-two-in-the-bush-unless-the-bird-has-the/) [Ankala Subbarao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ankala-subbarao/) > [A bird in the hand is a certainty, but a bird in the bush may sing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-harte/a-bird-in-the-hand-is-a-certainty-but-a-bird-in-the-bush-may-sing/) [Bret Harte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-harte/) > [A bird in the hand is worth more than a Bush.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ice-cube/a-bird-in-the-hand-is-worth-more-than-a-bush/) [Ice Cube](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ice-cube/) > [I cannot help esteem The 'Bird within the Hand' Superior to the one The 'Bush' may yield me Or may not Too late to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/i-cannot-help-esteem-the-bird-within-the-hand-superior-to-the-one-the/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) ## More by Barbara Kingsolver > [“Jesus was a more reliable backer, evidently, less likely to drink himself unconscious or get liver cancer. No wonder people chose Him as their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/jesus-was-a-more-reliable-backer-evidently-less-likely-to-drink/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [Now I'm starting to think he wasn't supposed to be my whole life, he was just this doorway to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/now-i-m-starting-to-think-he-wasn-t-supposed-to-be-my-whole-life-he/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [Cooking is 80 percent confidence, a skill best acquired starting from when the apron strings wrap around you twice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/cooking-is-80-percent-confidence-a-skill-best-acquired-starting-from/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“In Bobby Ogle's version of heaven everyone would wind up in one place, criminals and Muslims included.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/in-bobby-ogle-s-version-of-heaven-everyone-would-wind-up-in-one-place/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“Weeds are job security for the gardener.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/weeds-are-job-security-for-the-gardener/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“It's what you do that makes your soul, not the other way around.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/it-s-what-you-do-that-makes-your-soul-not-the-other-way-around/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“Lusa turned to Crys, her eyes shining. 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Even Adah, who's becoming an expert in tropical epidemiology…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/but-we-ve-all-ended-up-giving-body-and-soul-to-africa-one-way-or/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [If the Lord hasn't got a boyfriend lined up for me to marry, that's his business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/if-the-lord-hasn-t-got-a-boyfriend-lined-up-for-me-to-marry-that-s/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) [Explore all 939 Barbara Kingsolver quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) ## More Bird quotes > [And I have been very blessed, having coached some of the greatest that have ever played the game. But if I had to start…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/red-auerbach/and-i-have-been-very-blessed-having-coached-some-of-the-greatest-that/) [Red Auerbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/red-auerbach/) > [Some minds corrode and grow inactive under the loss of personal liberty; others grow morbid and irritable; but it is the nature of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/some-minds-corrode-and-grow-inactive-under-the-loss-of-personal/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [Set the bird's wings with gold and it will never again soar in thesky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/set-the-bird-s-wings-with-gold-and-it-will-never-again-soar-in-thesky/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [“He unfixes the metal notch and slips his hand around the body of the bird. Feels its heat, its small heart beating. He stares…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-schuyler/he-unfixes-the-metal-notch-and-slips-his-hand-around-the-body-of-the/) Nina Schuyler > [I would rather learn from one bird how to sing than to teach 10,000 stars how not to dance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/i-would-rather-learn-from-one-bird-how-to-sing-than-to-teach-10-000/) [e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/) > [Can you imagine any better example of divine creative accomplishment that the consummate flying machine that is a bird? The skeleton, very flexible and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-murchie/can-you-imagine-any-better-example-of-divine-creative-accomplishment/) [Guy Murchie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-murchie/) > [Surely, God could have caused birds to fly with their bones made of solid gold, with their veins full of quicksilver, with their flesh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galileo-galilei/surely-god-could-have-caused-birds-to-fly-with-their-bones-made-of/) [Galileo Galilei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galileo-galilei/) > [And wheresoever, in his rich creation, Sweet music breathes--in wave, or bird, or soul-- 'Tis but the faint and far reverberation Of that great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-sargent-osgood/and-wheresoever-in-his-rich-creation-sweet-music-breathes-in-wave-or/) [Frances Sargent Osgood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-sargent-osgood/) > [A clock struck out the hour of twelve, and the bird in the hedgerow was still singing as we marched out to the roadway,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-macgill/a-clock-struck-out-the-hour-of-twelve-and-the-bird-in-the-hedgerow/) [Patrick MacGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-macgill/) > [Every wife ought to answer for her man. If the husband be engaged in a seditious club, or drinks mysterious healths, or be frugal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/every-wife-ought-to-answer-for-her-man-if-the-husband-be-engaged-in-a/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Meanwhile, the trees were just as green as before; the birds sang and the sun shone as clearly now as ever. The familiar surroundings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/meanwhile-the-trees-were-just-as-green-as-before-the-birds-sang-and/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [When they started to drain a swamp where birds and fish had lived, for a new housing development down the road from his apartment,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maile-meloy/when-they-started-to-drain-a-swamp-where-birds-and-fish-had-lived-for/) [Maile Meloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maile-meloy/) > [The bird with the thorn in its breast, it follows an immutable law; it is driven by it knows not what to impale itself,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-mccullough/the-bird-with-the-thorn-in-its-breast-it-follows-an-immutable-law-it/) [Colleen McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-mccullough/) > [Real like sucks the life out of losers. if you want to fuck with the eagles, you must learn how to fly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/real-like-sucks-the-life-out-of-losers-if-you-want-to-fuck-with-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“If we studied birds ,maybe we could learn to be free.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-alire-s-enz/if-we-studied-birds-maybe-we-could-learn-to-be-free/) [Benjamin Alire Sáenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-alire-s-enz/) [Browse all 4,802 Bird quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bird/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“A bird in the hand loses its mystery in no time flat.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Barbara Kingsolver" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/a-bird-in-the-hand-loses-its-mystery-in-no-time-flat/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bird" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/a-bird-in-the-hand-loses-its-mystery-in-no-time-flat/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbf/barbara-kingsolver-200_bird_a-bird-in-the-hand-loses-its-mystery-in_2474451.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbf/barbara-kingsolver-200_bird_a-bird-in-the-hand-loses-its-mystery-in_2474451.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbf/barbara-kingsolver-200_bird_a-bird-in-the-hand-loses-its-mystery-in_2474451.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A bird in the hand loses its mystery in no time flat.” — Barbara Kingsolver", "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": "Barbara Kingsolver", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“A bird in the hand loses...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/a-bird-in-the-hand-loses-its-mystery-in-no-time-flat/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/a-bird-in-the-hand-loses-its-mystery-in-no-time-flat/#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 } } ] } ```