--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Stories move in circle. They don’t move…" description: "\"Stories move in circle. They don’t move in straight lines. So it helps if you listen in circles. There are stories inside stories and stories between s..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81a/deena-metzger-23629_circles_stories-move-in-circle-they-don-t-move-i_1436528.jpg" --- # Stories move in circle. They don’t move in straight lines… ![“Stories move in circle. They don’t move in straight lines. So it helps if you listen in circles. There are stories inside stories and stories between stories and finding your way through them is as easy and as hard as finding your way home. And part of the finding is the getting lost. And when…” quote by Deena Metzger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81a/deena-metzger-23629_circles_stories-move-in-circle-they-don-t-move-i_1436528.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81a/deena-metzger-23629_circles_stories-move-in-circle-they-don-t-move-i_1436528.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81a/deena-metzger-23629_circles_stories-move-in-circle-they-don-t-move-i_1436528.jpg) > “Stories move in circle. They don’t move in straight lines. So it helps if you listen in circles. There are stories inside stories and stories between stories and finding your way through them is as easy and as hard as finding your way home. And part of the finding is the getting lost. And when you’re lost you start to look around and to listen.” [Deena Metzger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deena-metzger/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Stories are circular; listening to them reveals layers and helps navigate uncertainty. **In simple terms:** Stories loop; listening uncovers meaning. Key Takeaway Listen to stories to find direction. Themes storytelling circles navigation Mood inspirational introspective Type philosophical advice When to use this quote - creative writing - therapy sessions - team brainstorming - personal reflection Key Concepts narrative theory psychology of meaning Questions to Reflect On - How does listening in circles change your perspective? - What does getting lost teach you about discovery? A Different Perspective Circular narratives can be confusing without guidance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Circles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/circles/) [Finding your way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/finding-your-way/) [Getting lost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/getting-lost/) [Home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home/) [Lost you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lost-you/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Straight line](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/straight-line/) ## Related quotes > [To refrain from storytelling is perhaps one of the highest forms of respect we can pay. Those people, with no stories to circle them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-marcus/to-refrain-from-storytelling-is-perhaps-one-of-the-highest-forms-of/) [Ben Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-marcus/) > [ Doing reality TV is hard. You get lost. You are shooting three months before anybody sees it. So you are past \[the emotions\]. Then… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-le/doing-reality-tv-is-hard-you-get-lost-you-are-shooting-three-months/) [Michel'le](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-le/) > [If you're not lost, you're not much of an explorer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-perry-barlow/if-you-re-not-lost-you-re-not-much-of-an-explorer/) [John Perry Barlow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-perry-barlow/) > [Consider whether fulfillment of the goal you have chosen will constitute success. What is success? If you possess health and wealth, but have trouble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paramahansa-yogananda/consider-whether-fulfillment-of-the-goal-you-have-chosen-will/) [Paramahansa Yogananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paramahansa-yogananda/) > [“You have to know... What you have to know in all of this, through all of this, is that no matter how lost you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allison-winn-scotch/you-have-to-know-what-you-have-to-know-in-all-of-this-through-all-of/) [Allison Winn Scotch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allison-winn-scotch/) > [If you're lost, you might need to swim against the tide.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-goldberg-sloan/if-you-re-lost-you-might-need-to-swim-against-the-tide/) [Holly Goldberg Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-goldberg-sloan/) > [Looking back, perhaps the single biggest problem was fear. Fear of failure, fear of other people, but mostly fear of myself. It has taken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynda-bellingham/looking-back-perhaps-the-single-biggest-problem-was-fear-fear-of/) [Lynda Bellingham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynda-bellingham/) > [The guys that write Once Upon a Time were major writers on Lost, and we had lunch when I started on OUAT and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-dale/the-guys-that-write-once-upon-a-time-were-major-writers-on-lost-and/) [Alan Dale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-dale/) > [Loss aversion is a really disproportionate anxiety about stuff that doesn't matter very much. So for instance, if you lose $5, you feel really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-harford/loss-aversion-is-a-really-disproportionate-anxiety-about-stuff-that/) [Tim Harford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-harford/) > [If someone else runs faster than you or makes more money than you or is more adept at anything, that doesn't mean you have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/if-someone-else-runs-faster-than-you-or-makes-more-money-than-you-or/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [But I guess that's the way it is. When you lose something irreplaceable, you don't mourn for the thing you lost. you mourn for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harpo-marx/but-i-guess-that-s-the-way-it-is-when-you-lose-something/) [Harpo Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harpo-marx/) > [Like when you have the right title for something you're writing and you get lost - you can always go back to the title…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-beatty/like-when-you-have-the-right-title-for-something-you-re-writing-and/) [Paul Beatty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-beatty/) > [If you have made a mistake or committed an inaccuracy there is no need to become annoyed and to think that everything is lost.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bronstein/if-you-have-made-a-mistake-or-committed-an-inaccuracy-there-is-no/) [David Bronstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bronstein/) > [You're already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/you-re-already-naked-there-is-no-reason-not-to-follow-your-heart/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [You don't dwell on what you've lost, you just move on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-kagawa/you-don-t-dwell-on-what-you-ve-lost-you-just-move-on/) [Julie Kagawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-kagawa/) ## More by Deena Metzger > [Eighty percent of language lies to us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deena-metzger/eighty-percent-of-language-lies-to-us/) [Deena Metzger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deena-metzger/) > [Write against patterns. Go against the devils. Write what you never write. Lie. Validate what you don’t validate. Indulge what you don’t like. Wallow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deena-metzger/write-against-patterns-go-against-the-devils-write-what-you-never/) [Deena Metzger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deena-metzger/) > [We want to be God in all the ways that are not the ways of God, in what we hope is indestructible or unmoving.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deena-metzger/we-want-to-be-god-in-all-the-ways-that-are-not-the-ways-of-god-in/) [Deena Metzger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deena-metzger/) > [It's what we do for each other that heals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deena-metzger/it-s-what-we-do-for-each-other-that-heals/) [Deena Metzger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deena-metzger/) > [Some people fear seeing or feeling anything about which there is no general agreement. For others, it is thrilling to be aware of innuendo,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deena-metzger/some-people-fear-seeing-or-feeling-anything-about-which-there-is-no/) [Deena Metzger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deena-metzger/) > [“There are those who try to set Fire to the world We are in danger There is only time to move slowly There is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deena-metzger/there-are-those-who-try-to-set-fire-to-the-world-we-are-in-danger/) [Deena Metzger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deena-metzger/) > [The world of public discourse - political, social, diplomatic, commercial - has so corrupted language that we are rightly more suspicious of the meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deena-metzger/the-world-of-public-discourse-political-social-diplomatic-commercial/) [Deena Metzger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deena-metzger/) > [Stories heal us because we become whole through them. In the process of writing, of discovering our story, we restore those parts of ourselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deena-metzger/stories-heal-us-because-we-become-whole-through-them-in-the-process/) [Deena Metzger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deena-metzger/) > [“What must I say? What must I say? What must I say? What must I say? And finally, What must I say to you?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deena-metzger/what-must-i-say-what-must-i-say-what-must-i-say-what-must-i-say-and/) [Deena Metzger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deena-metzger/) > [The gods come to us in the forms we recognize.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deena-metzger/the-gods-come-to-us-in-the-forms-we-recognize/) [Deena Metzger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deena-metzger/) > [Creating art and creating ourselves are the same act; art, world, ourselves - these are continuous with one another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deena-metzger/creating-art-and-creating-ourselves-are-the-same-act-art-world/) [Deena Metzger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deena-metzger/) > [A sacred illness is one that educates us and alters us from the inside out, provides experiences and therefore knowledge that we could not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deena-metzger/a-sacred-illness-is-one-that-educates-us-and-alters-us-from-the/) [Deena Metzger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deena-metzger/) > [I'll tell you how to get up in the morning…watch for the dawn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deena-metzger/i-ll-tell-you-how-to-get-up-in-the-morning-watch-for-the-dawn/) [Deena Metzger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deena-metzger/) > [One cannot really know an other without intimacy. Detached, objective observations alone leave a surface upon which it is too easy to project one's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deena-metzger/one-cannot-really-know-an-other-without-intimacy-detached-objective/) [Deena Metzger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deena-metzger/) > [When Stories nestle in the body, soul comes forth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deena-metzger/when-stories-nestle-in-the-body-soul-comes-forth/) [Deena Metzger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deena-metzger/) [Explore all 25 Deena Metzger quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deena-metzger/) ## More Circles quotes > [In some circles where very heavy people think they have very heavy brains, words like "charming" and "clever" and "pretty" are all put-downs; all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/in-some-circles-where-very-heavy-people-think-they-have-very-heavy/) [Andy Warhol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-warhol/) > [Alone in a world, With millions of souls Walking in circles Trapped in their dreams unhealthy, unclean walking in circles, now do not disturb…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-bennington/alone-in-a-world-with-millions-of-souls-walking-in-circles-trapped-in/) [Chester Bennington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-bennington/) > [Gambling has held human beings in thrall for millennia. It has been engaged in everywhere, from the dregs of society to the most respectable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-l-bernstein/gambling-has-held-human-beings-in-thrall-for-millennia-it-has-been/) [Peter L. Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-l-bernstein/) > [And the seasons they go 'round and 'round And the painted ponies go up and down We're captive on the carousel of time We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/and-the-seasons-they-go-round-and-round-and-the-painted-ponies-go-up/) [Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) > [If, for instance, they have heard something from the postman, they attribute it to a semi-official statement; if they have fallen into conversation with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/if-for-instance-they-have-heard-something-from-the-postman-they/) [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) > [Maybe this is a way of gaslighting myself, but I think of it this way: In certain circles, my grandpa was considered to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoe-kazan/maybe-this-is-a-way-of-gaslighting-myself-but-i-think-of-it-this-way/) [Zoe Kazan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoe-kazan/) > [All my life's a circle; But I can't tell you why; Season's spinning round again; The years keep rollin' by.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-chapin/all-my-life-s-a-circle-but-i-can-t-tell-you-why-season-s-spinning/) [Harry Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-chapin/) > [There's when a phrase circles in my head in a number of ways for any number of days, weeks, or months, and then that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-mangan/there-s-when-a-phrase-circles-in-my-head-in-a-number-of-ways-for-any/) [Dan Mangan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-mangan/) > [I have no name for what circles so perfectly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/i-have-no-name-for-what-circles-so-perfectly/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [It's important to recognize that expanding the circle of opportunity and increasing the democratic potential of our own society, as well as those across…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/it-s-important-to-recognize-that-expanding-the-circle-of-opportunity/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [The fight against syphilis demands a fight against prostitution, against prejudices, old habits, against previous conceptions, general views among them not least the false…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/the-fight-against-syphilis-demands-a-fight-against-prostitution/) [Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/) > [Tell them you came, and saw, and looked into my eyes and saw the shadow of the guard receding. Thoughts in time and out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-morrison/tell-them-you-came-and-saw-and-looked-into-my-eyes-and-saw-the-shadow/) [Jim Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-morrison/) > [ \[Wise men\] have tried to understand our state of being, by grasping at its stars, or its arts, or its economics. But, if there… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-fort/wise-men-have-tried-to-understand-our-state-of-being-by-grasping-at/) [Charles Fort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-fort/) > [You know Kim Jong Un, the evil dictator of North Korea? Apparently, a guy in his inner circle used his ashtray while smoking and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-letterman/you-know-kim-jong-un-the-evil-dictator-of-north-korea-apparently-a/) [David Letterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-letterman/) > [The Brick House was one of the toughest joints I ever played in ... Guys would drink and fight one another like circle saws.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-armstrong/the-brick-house-was-one-of-the-toughest-joints-i-ever-played-in-guys/) [Louis Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-armstrong/) [Browse all 1,860 Circles quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/circles/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Stories move in circle. They don’t move in straight lines. So it helps if you listen in circles. There are stories inside stories and stories between stories and finding your way through them is as easy and as hard as finding your way home. And part of the finding is the getting lost. 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