--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Ships are safe in harbor, but that's not…" description: "\"Ships are safe in harbor, but that's not what ships are for. So set sail on the stormy sea of love. You're going to get soaked at times, but at least y..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/14a/dan-millman-1475_alive_ships-are-safe-in-harbor-but-that-s-not_222824.jpg" --- # Ships are safe in harbor, but that's not what ships are… ![“Ships are safe in harbor, but that's not what ships are for. So set sail on the stormy sea of love. You're going to get soaked at times, but at least you'll know you're alive.” quote by Dan Millman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/14a/dan-millman-1475_alive_ships-are-safe-in-harbor-but-that-s-not_222824.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/14a/dan-millman-1475_alive_ships-are-safe-in-harbor-but-that-s-not_222824.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/14a/dan-millman-1475_alive_ships-are-safe-in-harbor-but-that-s-not_222824.jpg) > “Ships are safe in harbor, but that's not what ships are for. So set sail on the stormy sea of love. You're going to get soaked at times, but at least you'll know you're alive.” [Dan Millman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-millman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life’s purpose lies beyond safety; embracing challenges makes us truly alive. **In simple terms:** Challenges give life meaning and vitality. Key Takeaway Embrace risk and love fully. Themes courage love adventure Mood passionate determined Type motivational inspirational When to use this quote - relationships - career moves - personal growth - spiritual practice Key Concepts existentialism risk taking Questions to Reflect On - What storm are you willing to sail into? - How does love motivate you to face fear? A Different Perspective Risk can lead to loss or harm. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) [Going Soaked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/going-soaked-2272609/) [Harbor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/harbor/) [Harbors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/harbors/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Love you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-you/) [River](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/river/) [Safe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/safe/) [Safe harbor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/safe-harbor/) [Sail](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sail/) [Sail Stormy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sail-stormy-763191/) [Sailing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sailing/) [Sea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sea/) [Sea of love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sea-of-love/) [Ships](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ships/) [Ships Safe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ships-safe-468972/) [Stormy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stormy/) [Stormy seas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stormy-seas/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [Who sail on stormy seas; And that's the way I get my bread -- A trifle, if you please.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-carroll/who-sail-on-stormy-seas-and-that-s-the-way-i-get-my-bread-a-trifle-if/) [Lewis Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-carroll/) > [We rest here while we can, but we hear the ocean calling in our dreams, And we know by the morning, the wind will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-kimmel/we-rest-here-while-we-can-but-we-hear-the-ocean-calling-in-our-dreams/) [Tom Kimmel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-kimmel/) > [“Ships are safe at Harbor, but that's what they aren't meant for.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/ships-are-safe-at-harbor-but-that-s-what-they-aren-t-meant-for/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [O skies, be calm! O winds, blow free - Blow all my ships safe home to me! But if thou sendest some a-wrack, To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-wheeler-wilcox/o-skies-be-calm-o-winds-blow-free-blow-all-my-ships-safe-home-to-me/) [Ella Wheeler Wilcox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-wheeler-wilcox/) > [Ships are safe in harbour, but that's not what ships are made for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/ships-are-safe-in-harbour-but-that-s-not-what-ships-are-made-for/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Drownin', in the sea of love Where everyone would love to drown. Stevie Nicks "Sara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-nicks/drownin-in-the-sea-of-love-where-everyone-would-love-to-drown-stevie/) [Stevie Nicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-nicks/) > [“… in the sea of love, where everyone would love to drown. But now it’s gone; they say it doesn’t matter anymore.…”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-kate/in-the-sea-of-love-where-everyone-would-love-to-drown-but-now-it-s/) [Lauren Kate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-kate/) > [In the sea of love, I melt like salt Faith, Doubt - they both dissolve. A star is opening in my heart . The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/in-the-sea-of-love-i-melt-like-salt-faith-doubt-they-both-dissolve-a/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [“I am a wheel. As I rise, Sweetheart, I carry you along with me, a heady, dizzying spin toward the sweet oceans of eternity.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rikki-ducornet/i-am-a-wheel-as-i-rise-sweetheart-i-carry-you-along-with-me-a-heady/) [Rikki Ducornet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rikki-ducornet/) > [In another universe I probably came out OK, ended up with mad novias and jobs and a sea of love in which to swim,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/in-another-universe-i-probably-came-out-ok-ended-up-with-mad-novias/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [From your sea of love I'll take more than another riverful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/depeche-mode/from-your-sea-of-love-i-ll-take-more-than-another-riverful/) [Depeche Mode](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/depeche-mode/) > [Your heart must become a sea of love. Your mind must become a river of detachment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-chinmoy/your-heart-must-become-a-sea-of-love-your-mind-must-become-a-river-of/) [Sri Chinmoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-chinmoy/) > [Love one another, but make not a bond of love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/love-one-another-but-make-not-a-bond-of-love/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [Drowning in the sea of love Where everyone would love to drown.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-nicks/drowning-in-the-sea-of-love-where-everyone-would-love-to-drown/) [Stevie Nicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-nicks/) > [Just like a sunbeam can't separate itself from the sun, and a wave can't separate itself from the ocean, we can't separate ourselves from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/just-like-a-sunbeam-can-t-separate-itself-from-the-sun-and-a-wave-can/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) ## More by Dan Millman > [...when you resist what happens, your mind begins to race; the same thoughts that impinge upon you are actually created by you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-millman/when-you-resist-what-happens-your-mind-begins-to-race-the-same/) [Dan Millman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-millman/) > [Life is not suffering; it's just that you will suffer it, rather than enjoy it, until you let go of your mind's attachments and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-millman/life-is-not-suffering-it-s-just-that-you-will-suffer-it-rather-than/) [Dan Millman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-millman/) > [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/) > [Inward spiritual practices such as meditation, breathing techniques and self-analysis generate insights and enhance abilities, but none are so useful as learning to live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-millman/inward-spiritual-practices-such-as-meditation-breathing-techniques/) [Dan Millman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-millman/) > [We are both burdened and blessed by the great responsibility of the will - the power of choice. Our future is determined, in large…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-millman/we-are-both-burdened-and-blessed-by-the-great-responsibility-of-the/) [Dan Millman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-millman/) > [Stay present. You'll always have time to worry later on if you want to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-millman/stay-present-you-ll-always-have-time-to-worry-later-on-if-you-want-to/) [Dan Millman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-millman/) > [While some of us act without thinking, too many of us think without acting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-millman/while-some-of-us-act-without-thinking-too-many-of-us-think-without/) [Dan Millman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-millman/) > [Do you have the courage for it? Do you have the love? If you have enough of one, you will develop the other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-millman/do-you-have-the-courage-for-it-do-you-have-the-love-if-you-have/) [Dan Millman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-millman/) > [As a peaceful warrior, I would choose when, where and how I would behave. With that commitment, I began to live the life of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-millman/as-a-peaceful-warrior-i-would-choose-when-where-and-how-i-would/) [Dan Millman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-millman/) > [Life is constantly supporting us and giving us gifts. It's a matter of opening ourselves to that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-millman/life-is-constantly-supporting-us-and-giving-us-gifts-it-s-a-matter-of/) [Dan Millman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-millman/) > [“We must pass through solitude and difficulty, isolation and silence, to find that enchanted place where we can dance our clumsy dance and sing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-millman/we-must-pass-through-solitude-and-difficulty-isolation-and-silence-to/) [Dan Millman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-millman/) > [Words mean little unless you realize the truth of it yourself. And when you do, you'll be free at last.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-millman/words-mean-little-unless-you-realize-the-truth-of-it-yourself-and/) [Dan Millman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-millman/) > [“There is no need to search . . . achievement leads nowhere . . . makes no difference at all. Just be happy now.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-millman/there-is-no-need-to-search-achievement-leads-nowhere-makes-no/) [Dan Millman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-millman/) > [I had lost my mind and fallen into my heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-millman/i-had-lost-my-mind-and-fallen-into-my-heart/) [Dan Millman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-millman/) > [To rid yourself of old patterns, focus all your energy not on struggling with the old, but on building the new.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-millman/to-rid-yourself-of-old-patterns-focus-all-your-energy-not-on/) [Dan Millman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-millman/) [Explore all 231 Dan Millman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-millman/) ## 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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": "Ships are safe in harbor, but that's not what ships are for. So set sail on the stormy sea of love. 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