--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Sometimes I've survived anger only one…" description: "\"“Sometimes I've survived anger only one minute at a time, by saying to myself again and again that the best kind of revenge is some kind of life beyond..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d8/barbara-kingsolver-200_anger_sometimes-i-ve-survived-anger-only-one-m_899482.png" --- # Sometimes I've survived anger only one minute at a time… ![“Sometimes I've survived anger only one minute at a time, by saying to myself again and again that the best kind of revenge is some kind of life beyond this, some kind of goodness. And I can lay no claim to goodness until I can prove that mean people have not made me mean.” quote by Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d8/barbara-kingsolver-200_anger_sometimes-i-ve-survived-anger-only-one-m_899482.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d8/barbara-kingsolver-200_anger_sometimes-i-ve-survived-anger-only-one-m_899482.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d8/barbara-kingsolver-200_anger_sometimes-i-ve-survived-anger-only-one-m_899482.png) > ““Sometimes I've survived anger only one minute at a time, by saying to myself again and again that the best kind of revenge is some kind of life beyond this, some kind of goodness. And I can lay no claim to goodness until I can prove that mean people have not made me mean.”” [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. Resisting anger through patience and choosing goodness over revenge, proving humanity despite cruelty **In simple terms:** Control anger, choose goodness, prove kindness Key Takeaway Practice patience, cultivate goodness, reject vengeance Themes ethics self‑control resilience Mood thoughtful determined Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - Conflict resolution - personal growth - social justice Key Concepts Moral philosophy emotional regulation Questions to Reflect On - How do you transform anger into positive action? - What does “goodness” look like in daily life? A Different Perspective Goodness can be hard to maintain under oppression ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anger/) [Anger Minute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anger-minute-1227129/) [Anger-and-attitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anger-and-attitude/) [Inspiring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspiring/) [Kind Revenge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind-revenge-1227128/) [Kindness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kindness/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Mean people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean-people/) [Revenge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revenge/) [Revenge Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revenge-kind-1227127/) [Survived Anger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/survived-anger-1227126/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [The minute you let go of your anger towards them is the minute they no longer have control over you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonya-parker/the-minute-you-let-go-of-your-anger-towards-them-is-the-minute-they/) [SONYA PARKER](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonya-parker/) > [Every minute spent in anger is a minute of happiness lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/every-minute-spent-in-anger-is-a-minute-of-happiness-lost/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [Revenge is a kind of wild justice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/revenge-is-a-kind-of-wild-justice/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“You do not know me for sure, yet you feel yourself better than me. But if you ever deliberately provoke me, in a way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/you-do-not-know-me-for-sure-yet-you-feel-yourself-better-than-me-but/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [Revenge is a kind of wild justice, which the more a man's nature runs to, the more ought law to weed it out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/revenge-is-a-kind-of-wild-justice-which-the-more-a-man-s-nature-runs/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [“Revenge is a kind of justice. But it is applicable only in wild and lawless places. Says Bhutta”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lecturer-m-k-bhutta-scholar/revenge-is-a-kind-of-justice-but-it-is-applicable-only-in-wild-and/) [Lecturer M K Bhutta Scholar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lecturer-m-k-bhutta-scholar/) > [“The best kind of revenge is to let him see how strong and beautiful you are, with or without him.” ~Emma Anderson”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-ann/the-best-kind-of-revenge-is-to-let-him-see-how-strong-and-beautiful/) [Pamela Ann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-ann/) > [“The best kind of of revenge is to let him see how beautiful u r w/ or w/out him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-ann/the-best-kind-of-of-revenge-is-to-let-him-see-how-beautiful-u-r-w-or/) [Pamela Ann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-ann/) > [You already stole my heart away. And now, I will never stop trying to steal your heart. It's kind of a revenge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-already-stole-my-heart-away-and-now-i-will-never-stop-trying-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The offender needs pity, not wrath; those who must needs be corrected, should be treated with tact and gentleness; and one must be always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/the-offender-needs-pity-not-wrath-those-who-must-needs-be-corrected/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [I will keep my heads up and hopes high, because the best kind of revenge is a smile that never gives up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crazymaff/i-will-keep-my-heads-up-and-hopes-high-because-the-best-kind-of/) [CrazyMaff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crazymaff/) > [Know how to play the card of contempt. It is the most politic kind of revenge. For there are many of whom we should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/know-how-to-play-the-card-of-contempt-it-is-the-most-politic-kind-of/) [Baltasar Gracian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baltasar-gracian/) > [I will keep my head high and my hopes up, because the best kind of revenge is a smile that never gives up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crazymaff/i-will-keep-my-head-high-and-my-hopes-up-because-the-best-kind-of/) [CrazyMaff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crazymaff/) > [“When people conclude that anger causes abuse, they are confusing cause and effect. Ray was not abusive because he was angry; he was angry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lundy-bancroft/when-people-conclude-that-anger-causes-abuse-they-are-confusing-cause/) [Lundy Bancroft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lundy-bancroft/) > [“Anger is the fire of the soul, love is the language of the heart ...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-richards/anger-is-the-fire-of-the-soul-love-is-the-language-of-the-heart/) [Stephen Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-richards/) ## 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. "That was a luna." Crys shrugged. "So?" "So? So what? You want it should sing, too?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/lusa-turned-to-crys-her-eyes-shining-that-was-a-luna-crys-shrugged-so/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [The strength of motherhood is greater than natural laws.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/the-strength-of-motherhood-is-greater-than-natural-laws/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“An imperfectly remembered life is a useless treachery. Every day, more fragments of the past roll around heavily in the chambers of an empty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/an-imperfectly-remembered-life-is-a-useless-treachery-every-day-more/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [Respecting the dignity of a spectacular food means enjoying it at its best. Europeans celebrate the short season of abundant asparagus as a form…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/respecting-the-dignity-of-a-spectacular-food-means-enjoying-it-at-its/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“Somehow it had come to pass that this man was her whole world, and she had failed to take his measure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/somehow-it-had-come-to-pass-that-this-man-was-her-whole-world-and-she/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [After 'The Poisonwood Bible' was published, several people believed that my parents were missionaries, which could not be further from the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/after-the-poisonwood-bible-was-published-several-people-believed-that/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [I can count all the ways in which being a mother has enriched my understanding of the world, of character, my sense of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/i-can-count-all-the-ways-in-which-being-a-mother-has-enriched-my/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [But we've all ended up giving body and soul to Africa, one way or another. 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 Anger quotes > [“If I let myself think of it the pain and anger were still fresh, adrenalin racing down my limbs to pool, hot and itchy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kylie-ladd/if-i-let-myself-think-of-it-the-pain-and-anger-were-still-fresh/) [Kylie Ladd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kylie-ladd/) > [I receive something we might euphemistically call an 'inappropriately hostile' response - that is to say, more than fair criticism or even fair anger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/i-receive-something-we-might-euphemistically-call-an-inappropriately/) [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Anger is a rough water; if you can canalize it into a water mill, you can benefit from it. Anything bad can be transformed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/anger-is-a-rough-water-if-you-can-canalize-it-into-a-water-mill-you/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“Some say the Earth is angry Because he wants no company; I say the Earth is angry Because he lives alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/some-say-the-earth-is-angry-because-he-wants-no-company-i-say-the/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [“When you feel terribly angry, you're possessed by anger ghost.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/when-you-feel-terribly-angry-you-re-possessed-by-anger-ghost/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [“Medical studies have shown that cursing reduces levels of stress and pain. Repressing your anger is not healthy. It's much better to verbalize it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-markus-malloy/medical-studies-have-shown-that-cursing-reduces-levels-of-stress-and/) [Oliver Markus Malloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-markus-malloy/) > [My care will be in the heart n not in words My anger will be in Words n not in the Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/my-care-will-be-in-the-heart-n-not-in-words-my-anger-will-be-in-words/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [You should be angry. You must not be bitter. Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. It doesn't do anything to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-should-be-angry-you-must-not-be-bitter-bitterness-is-like-cancer/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [To be a Negro in this country and to be relatively conscious is to be in a rage almost all the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-be-a-negro-in-this-country-and-to-be-relatively-conscious-is-to-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“God, you had enough time to have been through it three times. You've been through my stuff. I bet you over and let one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/god-you-had-enough-time-to-have-been-through-it-three-times-you-ve/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [The present contains nothing more than the past, and what is found in the effect was already in the cause.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-bergson/the-present-contains-nothing-more-than-the-past-and-what-is-found-in/) [Henri Bergson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-bergson/) > [Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wright/depression-is-merely-anger-without-enthusiasm/) [Steven Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wright/) > [I always fight better when my opponent's angry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-haye/i-always-fight-better-when-my-opponent-s-angry/) [David Haye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-haye/) > [ “Where there are kashays (anger-pride-deceit-greed), there is worldly life. As long as anger-pride-deceit-greed exist; one is a sansaari \[living a worldly life\] regardless of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/where-there-are-kashays-anger-pride-deceit-greed-there-is-worldly/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) [Browse all 7,469 Anger quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anger/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Sometimes I've survived anger only one minute at a time, by saying to myself again and again that the best kind of revenge is some kind of life beyond this, some kind of goodness. And I can lay no claim to goodness until I can prove that mean people have not made me mean.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Barbara Kingsolver" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/sometimes-i-ve-survived-anger-only-one-minute-at-a-time-by-saying-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Anger" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/sometimes-i-ve-survived-anger-only-one-minute-at-a-time-by-saying-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d8/barbara-kingsolver-200_anger_sometimes-i-ve-survived-anger-only-one-m_899482.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d8/barbara-kingsolver-200_anger_sometimes-i-ve-survived-anger-only-one-m_899482.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d8/barbara-kingsolver-200_anger_sometimes-i-ve-survived-anger-only-one-m_899482.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Sometimes I've survived anger only one minute at a time, by saying to myself again and again that the best…” — 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": "“Sometimes I've survived anger only one...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/sometimes-i-ve-survived-anger-only-one-minute-at-a-time-by-saying-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/sometimes-i-ve-survived-anger-only-one-minute-at-a-time-by-saying-to/#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 } } ] } ```