--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I was doing well enough until you came…" description: "\"“I was doing well enough until you came along and kicked my stone over, and out I came, all moss and eyes.”\" — Djuna Barnes" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c0/djuna-barnes-3957_kicked_i-was-doing-well-enough-until-you-came-a_3190101.jpg" --- # I was doing well enough until you came along and kicked my… ![“I was doing well enough until you came along and kicked my stone over, and out I came, all moss and eyes.” quote by Djuna Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c0/djuna-barnes-3957_kicked_i-was-doing-well-enough-until-you-came-a_3190101.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c0/djuna-barnes-3957_kicked_i-was-doing-well-enough-until-you-came-a_3190101.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c0/djuna-barnes-3957_kicked_i-was-doing-well-enough-until-you-came-a_3190101.jpg) > ““I was doing well enough until you came along and kicked my stone over, and out I came, all moss and eyes.”” [Djuna Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/djuna-barnes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A lover feels displaced and diminished when a new presence disrupts their fragile stability, turning them into a passive observer of their own life. **In simple terms:** Feeling powerless when someone disrupts you. Key Takeaway Recognize and assert your own agency. Themes identity power relationships vulnerability Mood melancholic reflective Type literary emotive When to use this quote - romantic rivalry - personal crisis - self‑reflection Key Concepts existentialism psychological displacement Questions to Reflect On - How do you maintain self‑worth amid upheaval? - What can you learn from feeling “moss and eyes”? A Different Perspective The disruption may also bring growth, not just loss. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Solitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solitude/) ## Related quotes > [I came, I saw, and I KICKED Stone Cold's ASS!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vince-mcmahon/i-came-i-saw-and-i-kicked-stone-cold-s-ass/) [Vince McMahon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vince-mcmahon/) > [I've pretty much kicked over every stone. And there's nothing in me that says, "I must create this particular thing."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-bullock/i-ve-pretty-much-kicked-over-every-stone-and-there-s-nothing-in-me/) [Sandra Bullock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-bullock/) > [“Eventually they climb sixteen steps into the Gallery of Mineralogy. The guide shows them a gate from Brazil and violet amethysts and a meteorite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-doerr/eventually-they-climb-sixteen-steps-into-the-gallery-of-mineralogy/) [Anthony Doerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-doerr/) > [I had a great deal of pressure to move to LA after Romancing the Stone came out and I'd become very popular. But people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-turner/i-had-a-great-deal-of-pressure-to-move-to-la-after-romancing-the/) [Kathleen Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-turner/) > [I got kicked out of four high schools just because people took issue with the colour of my skin. As if I could help…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tionne-watkins/i-got-kicked-out-of-four-high-schools-just-because-people-took-issue/) [Tionne Watkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tionne-watkins/) > [“The faithful dog is kicked, and no matter how the spider weaves, he is never loved.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin/the-faithful-dog-is-kicked-and-no-matter-how-the-spider-weaves-he-is/) [George R.R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin/) > [Even a dog knows the difference between being kicked and being stumbled over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes/even-a-dog-knows-the-difference-between-being-kicked-and-being/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes/) > [“She just wanted to be left alone to lick her wounds, like a puppy that had been kicked repeatedly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvain-reynard/she-just-wanted-to-be-left-alone-to-lick-her-wounds-like-a-puppy-that/) [Sylvain Reynard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvain-reynard/) > [My dad was my swim coach growing up, and I tried to get kicked out of practice every day. I was a little devil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-lochte/my-dad-was-my-swim-coach-growing-up-and-i-tried-to-get-kicked-out-of/) [Ryan Lochte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-lochte/) > [Then suddenly something just kicked me. I kind of woke up and realised that I was in a different atmosphere than you normally are.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayrton-senna/then-suddenly-something-just-kicked-me-i-kind-of-woke-up-and-realised/) [Ayrton Senna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayrton-senna/) > [My father was kicked out of the National Front. He does whatever he wants. It doesn't concern me anymore... I don't talk to him,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marine-le-pen/my-father-was-kicked-out-of-the-national-front-he-does-whatever-he/) [Marine Le Pen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marine-le-pen/) > [“She kicked her feet as hard as she could, over and over”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-hayden/she-kicked-her-feet-as-hard-as-she-could-over-and-over/) Jennifer Hayden > [People in government and public life are being kicked around at a high rate of speed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arlen-specter/people-in-government-and-public-life-are-being-kicked-around-at-a/) [Arlen Specter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arlen-specter/) > ['Fabulosity' is to get up when you've been kicked down, and it's not to go after who kicked you down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimora-lee-simmons/fabulosity-is-to-get-up-when-you-ve-been-kicked-down-and-it-s-not-to/) [Kimora Lee Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimora-lee-simmons/) > [“I was a victim of violence... No reason for vileonce just few sucirity guards came... we were 3... they were 2... and look they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deyth-banger/i-was-a-victim-of-violence-no-reason-for-vileonce-just-few-sucirity/) Deyth Banger ## More by Djuna Barnes > [“There goes the dismantled—Love has fallen off her wall. A religious woman,” he thought to himself, “without the joy and safety of the Catholic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/djuna-barnes/there-goes-the-dismantled-love-has-fallen-off-her-wall-a-religious/) [Djuna Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/djuna-barnes/) > [Of course I think of the past and of Paris, what else is there to remember?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/djuna-barnes/of-course-i-think-of-the-past-and-of-paris-what-else-is-there-to/) [Djuna Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/djuna-barnes/) > [A strong sense of identity gives man an idea he can do no wrong; too little accomplishes the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/djuna-barnes/a-strong-sense-of-identity-gives-man-an-idea-he-can-do-no-wrong-too/) [Djuna Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/djuna-barnes/) > [My war brought me many things; let yours bring you as much. Life is not to be told, call it as loud as you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/djuna-barnes/my-war-brought-me-many-things-let-yours-bring-you-as-much-life-is-not/) [Djuna Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/djuna-barnes/) > [When one wants to become cognizant of the color and the texture of the soil, one does not get a ladder; one gets a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/djuna-barnes/when-one-wants-to-become-cognizant-of-the-color-and-the-texture-of/) [Djuna Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/djuna-barnes/) > [I can draw and write, and you'd be foolish not to hire me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/djuna-barnes/i-can-draw-and-write-and-you-d-be-foolish-not-to-hire-me/) [Djuna Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/djuna-barnes/) > [“The perfume that her body exhaled was of the quality of that earth-flesh, fungi, which smells of captured dampness and yet is so dry,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/djuna-barnes/the-perfume-that-her-body-exhaled-was-of-the-quality-of-that-earth/) [Djuna Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/djuna-barnes/) > [God,' she cried, 'what is love? Man seeking his own head? The human head, so rented by misery that even the teeth weigh! She…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/djuna-barnes/god-she-cried-what-is-love-man-seeking-his-own-head-the-human-head-so/) [Djuna Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/djuna-barnes/) > [Suffering for love is how I have learned practically everything I know, love of grandmother up and on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/djuna-barnes/suffering-for-love-is-how-i-have-learned-practically-everything-i/) [Djuna Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/djuna-barnes/) > [“No man need curing of his individual sickness; his universal malady is what he should look to.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/djuna-barnes/no-man-need-curing-of-his-individual-sickness-his-universal-malady-is/) [Djuna Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/djuna-barnes/) > [When autumn shadows throw their patterns across the land, they are not the images of fragile, dying leaves, not the bared arms of lofty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/djuna-barnes/when-autumn-shadows-throw-their-patterns-across-the-land-they-are-not/) [Djuna Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/djuna-barnes/) > [Our bones ache only while the flesh is on them. Stretch it as thin as the temple flesh of an ailing woman and still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/djuna-barnes/our-bones-ache-only-while-the-flesh-is-on-them-stretch-it-as-thin-as/) [Djuna Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/djuna-barnes/) > [“I tell you, Madame, if one gave birth to a heart on a plate, it would say “Love” and twitch like the lopped leg…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/djuna-barnes/i-tell-you-madame-if-one-gave-birth-to-a-heart-on-a-plate-it-would/) [Djuna Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/djuna-barnes/) > [“Those who turn the day into night, the young, the drug addict, the profligate, the drunken and that most miserable, the lover who watches…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/djuna-barnes/those-who-turn-the-day-into-night-the-young-the-drug-addict-the/) [Djuna Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/djuna-barnes/) > [I couldn't ever boil potatoes over the heat of your affection. Your love would never bridge a gap; it wouldn't even fill up the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/djuna-barnes/i-couldn-t-ever-boil-potatoes-over-the-heat-of-your-affection-your/) [Djuna Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/djuna-barnes/) [Explore all 116 Djuna Barnes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/djuna-barnes/) ## More Kicked quotes > [“I was a victim of violence... No reason for vileonce just few sucirity guards came... we were 3... they were 2... and look they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deyth-banger/i-was-a-victim-of-violence-no-reason-for-vileonce-just-few-sucirity/) Deyth Banger > ['Fabulosity' is to get up when you've been kicked down, and it's not to go after who kicked you down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimora-lee-simmons/fabulosity-is-to-get-up-when-you-ve-been-kicked-down-and-it-s-not-to/) [Kimora Lee Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimora-lee-simmons/) > [People in government and public life are being kicked around at a high rate of speed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arlen-specter/people-in-government-and-public-life-are-being-kicked-around-at-a/) [Arlen Specter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arlen-specter/) > [“She kicked her feet as hard as she could, over and over”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-hayden/she-kicked-her-feet-as-hard-as-she-could-over-and-over/) Jennifer Hayden > [My father was kicked out of the National Front. He does whatever he wants. It doesn't concern me anymore... I don't talk to him,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marine-le-pen/my-father-was-kicked-out-of-the-national-front-he-does-whatever-he/) [Marine Le Pen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marine-le-pen/) > [Then suddenly something just kicked me. I kind of woke up and realised that I was in a different atmosphere than you normally are.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayrton-senna/then-suddenly-something-just-kicked-me-i-kind-of-woke-up-and-realised/) [Ayrton Senna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayrton-senna/) > [My dad was my swim coach growing up, and I tried to get kicked out of practice every day. I was a little devil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-lochte/my-dad-was-my-swim-coach-growing-up-and-i-tried-to-get-kicked-out-of/) [Ryan Lochte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-lochte/) > [“She just wanted to be left alone to lick her wounds, like a puppy that had been kicked repeatedly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvain-reynard/she-just-wanted-to-be-left-alone-to-lick-her-wounds-like-a-puppy-that/) [Sylvain Reynard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvain-reynard/) > [Even a dog knows the difference between being kicked and being stumbled over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes/even-a-dog-knows-the-difference-between-being-kicked-and-being/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes/) > [“The faithful dog is kicked, and no matter how the spider weaves, he is never loved.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin/the-faithful-dog-is-kicked-and-no-matter-how-the-spider-weaves-he-is/) [George R.R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin/) > [I got kicked out of four high schools just because people took issue with the colour of my skin. As if I could help…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tionne-watkins/i-got-kicked-out-of-four-high-schools-just-because-people-took-issue/) [Tionne Watkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tionne-watkins/) > [Hector Lombard kicked me 32 times in that fight. No issues. I walked through the airport the next day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-smith/hector-lombard-kicked-me-32-times-in-that-fight-no-issues-i-walked/) [Anthony Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-smith/) > [I got kicked out in grade school because I staged a riot because I wanted more library time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bitsie-tulloch/i-got-kicked-out-in-grade-school-because-i-staged-a-riot-because-i/) [Bitsie Tulloch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bitsie-tulloch/) > [What's always got me is the fact that when people talked on the telly about Iraq, before Afghanistan kicked off, you'd get only these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-kemp/what-s-always-got-me-is-the-fact-that-when-people-talked-on-the-telly/) [Ross Kemp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-kemp/) > [I've been kicked out of a few parties, but it's fun when you get kicked out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-ryan/i-ve-been-kicked-out-of-a-few-parties-but-it-s-fun-when-you-get/) [Lee Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-ryan/) Browse all 285 Kicked quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I was doing well enough until you came along and kicked my stone over, and out I came, all moss and eyes.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Djuna Barnes" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/djuna-barnes/i-was-doing-well-enough-until-you-came-along-and-kicked-my-stone-over/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Kicked" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/djuna-barnes/i-was-doing-well-enough-until-you-came-along-and-kicked-my-stone-over/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c0/djuna-barnes-3957_kicked_i-was-doing-well-enough-until-you-came-a_3190101.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c0/djuna-barnes-3957_kicked_i-was-doing-well-enough-until-you-came-a_3190101.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c0/djuna-barnes-3957_kicked_i-was-doing-well-enough-until-you-came-a_3190101.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I was doing well enough until you came along and kicked my stone over, and out I came, all moss and eyes.” — Djuna Barnes", "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": "Djuna Barnes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/djuna-barnes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I was doing well enough until...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/djuna-barnes/i-was-doing-well-enough-until-you-came-along-and-kicked-my-stone-over/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/djuna-barnes/i-was-doing-well-enough-until-you-came-along-and-kicked-my-stone-over/#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 } } ] } ```