--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: She drew herself up to her full height—it…" description: "\"“She drew herself up to her full height—it was a little difficult on a donkey—and said primly, “I have always found that in painful situations it is a ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b46/dorothy-gilman-19428_donkey_she-drew-herself-up-to-her-full-height-i_2728930.jpg" --- # She drew herself up to her full height—it was a little… ![“She drew herself up to her full height—it was a little difficult on a donkey—and said primly, “I have always found that in painful situations it is a sensible idea to take each hour as it comes and not to anticipate beyond. But oh how I wish I could have a bath!” quote by Dorothy Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b46/dorothy-gilman-19428_donkey_she-drew-herself-up-to-her-full-height-i_2728930.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b46/dorothy-gilman-19428_donkey_she-drew-herself-up-to-her-full-height-i_2728930.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b46/dorothy-gilman-19428_donkey_she-drew-herself-up-to-her-full-height-i_2728930.jpg) > ““She drew herself up to her full height—it was a little difficult on a donkey—and said primly, “I have always found that in painful situations it is a sensible idea to take each hour as it comes and not to anticipate beyond. But oh how I wish I could have a bath!”” [Dorothy Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-gilman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. In painful moments, live moment‑by‑moment without over‑planning, yet still crave comfort. **In simple terms:** Live now, accept discomfort, desire ease. Key Takeaway Practice present‑focused coping. Themes mindfulness comfort adaptation Mood calm wry thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - stressful work - illness - travel delays - personal setbacks Key Concepts present‑moment awareness self‑care humor Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance present focus with future planning? - What small comforts help you in hardship? A Different Perspective Over‑focus on the present can ignore future needs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Painful situations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painful-situations/) ## Related quotes > [I am here, come closer," the old donkey said with her eyes. "I will mother you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-dunn/i-am-here-come-closer-the-old-donkey-said-with-her-eyes-i-will-mother/) [Katherine Dunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-dunn/) > [“Ye'll wish a bath this evening, and while I don't mind servin' as yer cook, I'm not washin' yer back." "I won't ask if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hawkins/ye-ll-wish-a-bath-this-evening-and-while-i-don-t-mind-servin-as-yer/) [Karen Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hawkins/) > [God created the donkey and said to him, You will be a donkey. You will work untiringly from sunrise to sunset carrying burdens on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/god-created-the-donkey-and-said-to-him-you-will-be-a-donkey-you-will/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [“I stepped out of the circle of his arms with reluctance and patted him on his butt. “That’ll do, donkey,” I said, in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-d-gordon/i-stepped-out-of-the-circle-of-his-arms-with-reluctance-and-patted/) [H.D. Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-d-gordon/) > [Even within the seemingly most unacceptable and painful situation is concealed a deeper good, and within every disaster is contained the seed of grace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/even-within-the-seemingly-most-unacceptable-and-painful-situation-is/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [“Medical textbooks never talk about the pain that's caused by anything that doctors do... And many doctors think that the pain is justified "if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aude-mermilliod/medical-textbooks-never-talk-about-the-pain-that-s-caused-by-anything/) Aude Mermilliod > [ As a woman, she \[Penelope Cruz\] obviously has changed as she has become an adult. But, as an actress, I actually might say that… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pedro-almodovar/as-a-woman-she-penelope-cruz-obviously-has-changed-as-she-has-become/) [Pedro Almodovar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pedro-almodovar/) > [You can turn painful situations around through laughter. If you can find humor in anything, even poverty, you can survive it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-cosby/you-can-turn-painful-situations-around-through-laughter-if-you-can/) [Bill Cosby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-cosby/) > [Everyone wants to learn the same thing from painful situations: how to avoid repeating them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-zukav/everyone-wants-to-learn-the-same-thing-from-painful-situations-how-to/) [Gary Zukav](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-zukav/) > [Nobody can ever be fully prepared to deal with a new, painful situation. Sometimes I react with patience and sometimes I react by doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-t-austin/nobody-can-ever-be-fully-prepared-to-deal-with-a-new-painful/) [Jake T. Austin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-t-austin/) > [When you are in a painful situation, look at it. If you look deeply enough and you don't get freaked out, you will see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/when-you-are-in-a-painful-situation-look-at-it-if-you-look-deeply/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [“When you think this pain is all you deserve, you are right. You are the only one that can decide how long you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/when-you-think-this-pain-is-all-you-deserve-you-are-right-you-are-the/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [I truly believe that the most painful situations can be overcome. Early childhood traumas, broken hearts, being bullied…the list is endless. It's really up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosa-lee-beckwith-powell/i-truly-believe-that-the-most-painful-situations-can-be-overcome/) [Rosa-Lee Beckwith-Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosa-lee-beckwith-powell/) > [What modern art means is that you have to keep finding new ways to express yourself, to express the problems, that there are no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bourgeois/what-modern-art-means-is-that-you-have-to-keep-finding-new-ways-to/) [Louise Bourgeois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bourgeois/) > [I feel like I've had a lot of painful situations that I intentionally delete from my memory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-wilson/i-feel-like-i-ve-had-a-lot-of-painful-situations-that-i-intentionally/) [Nancy Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-wilson/) ## More by Dorothy Gilman > [“I wasn't offering her pity," Mrs. Caswell said impatiently. "Tragedies don't interest me, tragedies and heartbreaks are all alike, what matters is how a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-gilman/i-wasn-t-offering-her-pity-mrs-caswell-said-impatiently-tragedies-don/) [Dorothy Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-gilman/) > [It's compassion that makes gods of us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-gilman/it-s-compassion-that-makes-gods-of-us/) [Dorothy Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-gilman/) > [The best things arrive on time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-gilman/the-best-things-arrive-on-time/) [Dorothy Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-gilman/) > [People need dreams, there's as much nourishment in 'em as food.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-gilman/people-need-dreams-there-s-as-much-nourishment-in-em-as-food/) [Dorothy Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-gilman/) > [“Do you like Magda too?” His gaze left the gate to sweep the courtyard. “She seems pleasant enough when she’s not drugged. But then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-gilman/do-you-like-magda-too-his-gaze-left-the-gate-to-sweep-the-courtyard/) [Dorothy Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-gilman/) > [“If life was like a body of water, she had asked that she be allowed to walk again in its shallows; instead she had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-gilman/if-life-was-like-a-body-of-water-she-had-asked-that-she-be-allowed-to/) [Dorothy Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-gilman/) > [will anything but fanaticism make for change? Wisdom and compromise come later.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-gilman/will-anything-but-fanaticism-make-for-change-wisdom-and-compromise/) [Dorothy Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-gilman/) > [“the problems changed, but people were the same”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-gilman/the-problems-changed-but-people-were-the-same/) [Dorothy Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-gilman/) > [“...why doesn't anything end happily?" "Because," said Mrs. Pollifax slowly, "there are no happy endings, Jenny, there are only happy people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-gilman/why-doesn-t-anything-end-happily-because-said-mrs-pollifax-slowly/) [Dorothy Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-gilman/) > [It's when we're given choice that we sit with the gods and design ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-gilman/it-s-when-we-re-given-choice-that-we-sit-with-the-gods-and-design/) [Dorothy Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-gilman/) > [ “Once upon a time, \[the guru\] said, when God had finished making the world, he wanted to leave behind Him for man a piece… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-gilman/once-upon-a-time-the-guru-said-when-god-had-finished-making-the-world/) [Dorothy Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-gilman/) > [“evil is, after all, only a deficiency of goodness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-gilman/evil-is-after-all-only-a-deficiency-of-goodness/) [dorothy gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-gilman/) > [... people misunderstood death, they died not of too little life but of too much life, that as the skin withered and the future…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-gilman/people-misunderstood-death-they-died-not-of-too-little-life-but-of/) [Dorothy Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-gilman/) > [A man from hell is not afraid of hot ashes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-gilman/a-man-from-hell-is-not-afraid-of-hot-ashes/) [Dorothy Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-gilman/) > [People need dreams, there's as much nourishment in them as food.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-gilman/people-need-dreams-there-s-as-much-nourishment-in-them-as-food/) [Dorothy Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-gilman/) [Explore all 32 Dorothy Gilman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-gilman/) ## More Donkey quotes > [“There was once an old but clever donkey, who never liked the sting of any bee, Nor for all the Slung mud, did he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/priyavrat-thareja/there-was-once-an-old-but-clever-donkey-who-never-liked-the-sting-of/) [Priyavrat Thareja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/priyavrat-thareja/) > [No lusting after your neighbor's house - or wife or servant or maid or ox or donkey. Don't set your heart on anything that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moses/no-lusting-after-your-neighbor-s-house-or-wife-or-servant-or-maid-or/) [Moses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moses/) > [Give me the enchilada with the pickle sauce shoved up between the donkey's ass.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-zappa/give-me-the-enchilada-with-the-pickle-sauce-shoved-up-between-the/) [Frank Zappa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-zappa/) > [Left to their own devices, men would wear trainers with a pair of stonewashed jeans and would think nothing of throwing on a donkey…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claudia-winkleman/left-to-their-own-devices-men-would-wear-trainers-with-a-pair-of/) [Claudia Winkleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claudia-winkleman/) > [“An uncomfortable marriage can not bear the strain of the death of a beloved donkey.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merrie-haskell/an-uncomfortable-marriage-can-not-bear-the-strain-of-the-death-of-a/) [Merrie Haskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merrie-haskell/) > [Poetry is a dumb Buddha who thinks a donkey is as important as a diamond.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/poetry-is-a-dumb-buddha-who-thinks-a-donkey-is-as-important-as-a/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) > [The whole new Democratic Party is the old Republican Party. We have a whole bunch of elephants running around in donkey's clothes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-novak/the-whole-new-democratic-party-is-the-old-republican-party-we-have-a/) [Robert Novak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-novak/) > [“as a copy she was not a very good copy. There were differences. She was not one of His best efforts. There is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-morgan/as-a-copy-she-was-not-a-very-good-copy-there-were-differences-she-was/) [Elaine Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-morgan/) > [A donkey a day keeps the tubesocks at bay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-schober/a-donkey-a-day-keeps-the-tubesocks-at-bay/) Greg Schober > [If a woman's got nothing but her fair fame to feed on, why, it's thin tack, and a donkey would die of it!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/if-a-woman-s-got-nothing-but-her-fair-fame-to-feed-on-why-it-s-thin/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [Donkeys live a long time. None of you has ever seen a dead donkey.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/donkeys-live-a-long-time-none-of-you-has-ever-seen-a-dead-donkey/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Maybe your life resembles a Bethlehem stable. Crude in some spots, smelly in others. Not much glamour. Not always neat. People in your circle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/maybe-your-life-resembles-a-bethlehem-stable-crude-in-some-spots/) [Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/) > [I do believe the Democratic party has moved far to the right. I do believe that the party has a bunch of elephants running…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-sharpton/i-do-believe-the-democratic-party-has-moved-far-to-the-right-i-do/) [Al Sharpton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-sharpton/) > [In the Bible, God uses brothel owners, pagan kings, murderers and mercenaries as instruments of good; at one point God even speaks to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-claiborne/in-the-bible-god-uses-brothel-owners-pagan-kings-murderers-and/) [Shane Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-claiborne/) > [From my first years, my favourite animal was always the donkey.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kai-havertz/from-my-first-years-my-favourite-animal-was-always-the-donkey/) [Kai Havertz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kai-havertz/) Browse all 262 Donkey quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“She drew herself up to her full height—it was a little difficult on a donkey—and said primly, “I have always found that in painful situations it is a sensible idea to take each hour as it comes and not to anticipate beyond. 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