--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To be hopeful, to embrace one possibility…" description: "\"To be hopeful, to embrace one possibility after another--that is surely the basic instinct. Baser even than hate, the thing with teeth, which can be st..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/581/barbara-kingsolver-200_alive_to-be-hopeful-to-embrace-one-possibility_303281.jpg" --- # To be hopeful, to embrace one possibility after… ![“To be hopeful, to embrace one possibility after another--that is surely the basic instinct. Baser even than hate, the thing with teeth, which can be stilled with a tone of voice or stunned by beauty. If the whole world of the living has to turn on the single point of remaining alive, that pointed…” quote by Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/581/barbara-kingsolver-200_alive_to-be-hopeful-to-embrace-one-possibility_303281.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/581/barbara-kingsolver-200_alive_to-be-hopeful-to-embrace-one-possibility_303281.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/581/barbara-kingsolver-200_alive_to-be-hopeful-to-embrace-one-possibility_303281.jpg) > “To be hopeful, to embrace one possibility after another--that is surely the basic instinct. Baser even than hate, the thing with teeth, which can be stilled with a tone of voice or stunned by beauty. If the whole world of the living has to turn on the single point of remaining alive, that pointed endurance is the poetry of hope. The thing with feathers.” [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. Hope is a fundamental drive, stronger than hatred, sustained by beauty and gentle words, and it fuels life's perseverance. **In simple terms:** Hope drives us beyond fear and hatred. Key Takeaway Nurture hope through beauty and kindness. Themes hope resilience human nature Mood inspirational reflective Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - personal crises - social movements - creative writing - educational settings - therapy sessions Key Concepts optimism psychology philosophy Questions to Reflect On - What fuels your hope? - How can you share hope with others? A Different Perspective Hope can be fragile in extreme adversity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) [Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) [Endurance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/endurance/) [Hate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hate/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Hopeful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hopeful/) [Instinct](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/instinct/) [Possibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possibility/) [Tone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tone/) [Tone Of Voice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tone-of-voice/) [Voice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/voice/) [Whole world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whole-world/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [To be hopeful, to embrace one possibility after another- that is surely the basic instinct! Time to move out into the glorious debris. Time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/to-be-hopeful-to-embrace-one-possibility-after-another-that-is-surely/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [To be hopeful, to embrace one possibility after another that is surely the basic instinct - crying out: High tide! Time to move out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/to-be-hopeful-to-embrace-one-possibility-after-another-that-is-surely-3/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [If you embrace possibility thinking, your dreams will go from molehill to mountain size, and because you believe in possibilities, you put yourself in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-maxwell/if-you-embrace-possibility-thinking-your-dreams-will-go-from-molehill/) [John C. Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-maxwell/) > [You have sole custody of your life. Who you are today is not who you have to be tomorrow. Embrace the possibility of transformation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leeza-gibbons/you-have-sole-custody-of-your-life-who-you-are-today-is-not-who-you/) [Leeza Gibbons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leeza-gibbons/) > [Hope may or may not be a Thing with Feathers. But it’s definitely a Thing with Claws.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niall-williams/hope-may-or-may-not-be-a-thing-with-feathers-but-it-s-definitely-a/) [Niall Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niall-williams/) > [ “You know that book of poems I’m always carrying around? \[...\] In one of her poems, she calls hope the ‘thing with feathers,’ and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roshani-chokshi/you-know-that-book-of-poems-i-m-always-carrying-around-in-one-of-her/) [Roshani Chokshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roshani-chokshi/) > [How wrong Emily Dickinson was! Hope is not "the thing with feathers." The thing with feathers has turned out to be my nephew. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/how-wrong-emily-dickinson-was-hope-is-not-the-thing-with-feathers-the/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [Hope is a thing with feathers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/hope-is-a-thing-with-feathers/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [“Hope is the thing with feathers”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/hope-is-the-thing-with-feathers/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/hope-is-the-thing-with-feathers-that-perches-in-the-soul/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [Hope is the thing with feathers That perches in the soul, And sings the tune without the words, And never stops at all, And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/hope-is-the-thing-with-feathers-that-perches-in-the-soul-and-sings-2/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [Hope is the thing with feathers That perches in the soul And sings the tune without the words And never stops at al](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/hope-is-the-thing-with-feathers-that-perches-in-the-soul-and-sings/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [Coming to appreciate your worth can, in some cases, dramatically improve your circumstances by changing the choices you make and the actions you take.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-millman/coming-to-appreciate-your-worth-can-in-some-cases-dramatically/) [Dan Millman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-millman/) > [Journalists are notoriously easy to kid. All you have to do is speak to a journalist in a very serious tone of voice, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/journalists-are-notoriously-easy-to-kid-all-you-have-to-do-is-speak/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [“he does not wear a twitching, mobile, human face, but rather a mask, as it were, with its features in dignified equilibrium; he does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/he-does-not-wear-a-twitching-mobile-human-face-but-rather-a-mask-as/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) ## 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 Alive quotes > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I feel very grateful to be alive and well enough to make music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ant/i-feel-very-grateful-to-be-alive-and-well-enough-to-make-music/) Adam Ant > [I don't crave applause. I'm not one of those guys who comes alive on stage. I'm much more alive at home, I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/i-don-t-crave-applause-i-m-not-one-of-those-guys-who-comes-alive-on/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [We must master our egoism, and through this mastery, step outside ourselves and educate ourselves in giving. Fasting requires that we rediscover all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/we-must-master-our-egoism-and-through-this-mastery-step-outside/) [Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/) > [I can't say that there are 'things' that make me come alive. There are thoughts that make me come alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/i-can-t-say-that-there-are-things-that-make-me-come-alive-there-are/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [We're like the wicked witch. We promise gingerbread, then eat the little brats alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/we-re-like-the-wicked-witch-we-promise-gingerbread-then-eat-the/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [If Jovan Belcher didn't possess a gun, he and Kasandra Perkins would both be alive today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-costas/if-jovan-belcher-didn-t-possess-a-gun-he-and-kasandra-perkins-would/) [Bob Costas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-costas/) > [Peace is an ongoing process. It begins with the first step and it does not end. We, all of us alive today, are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krieger/peace-is-an-ongoing-process-it-begins-with-the-first-step-and-it-does/) [David Krieger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krieger/) > [I think adoption becomes complicated whenever the biological parents are alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-haven/i-think-adoption-becomes-complicated-whenever-the-biological-parents/) [James Haven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-haven/) > [The pain of love is the pain of being alive. It is a perpetual wound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-duffy/the-pain-of-love-is-the-pain-of-being-alive-it-is-a-perpetual-wound/) [Maureen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-duffy/) > [I have tried to resign myself, and to console myself; and that, I hope, I may have done imperfectly; but what I cannot firmly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-tried-to-resign-myself-and-to-console-myself-and-that-i-hope-i/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [If Melanchthon were alive today, he might not weep because of controversies that surround the Lord's Supper, but he might well sorrow because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-w-lutzer/if-melanchthon-were-alive-today-he-might-not-weep-because-of/) [Erwin W. Lutzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-w-lutzer/) > [If you’re alive, don’t move, if you’re dead, don’t worry about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/if-you-re-alive-don-t-move-if-you-re-dead-don-t-worry-about-it/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [Here Greek and Roman find themselves alive along these crowded shelves; and Shakespeare treads again his stage, and Chaucer paints anew his age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-greenleaf-whittier/here-greek-and-roman-find-themselves-alive-along-these-crowded/) [John Greenleaf Whittier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-greenleaf-whittier/) > [You're alive!" Fezzik cried. The man in black sat immobile, like a ventriloquist's dummy, just his mouth moving. "That is perhaps the most childishly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/you-re-alive-fezzik-cried-the-man-in-black-sat-immobile-like-a/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) [Browse all 7,282 Alive quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "To be hopeful, to embrace one possibility after another--that is surely the basic instinct. Baser even than hate, the thing with teeth, which can be stilled with a tone of voice or stunned by beauty. If the whole world of the living has to turn on the single point of remaining alive, that pointed endurance is the poetry of hope. 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