--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If I can stop one heart from breaking, I…" description: "\"If I can stop one heart from breaking, I shall not live in vain.\" — Emily Dickinson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/873/emily-dickinson-310_heart_if-i-can-stop-one-heart-from-breaking-i_1422745.jpg" --- # If I can stop one heart from breaking, I shall not live in… ![“If I can stop one heart from breaking, I shall not live in vain.” quote by Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/873/emily-dickinson-310_heart_if-i-can-stop-one-heart-from-breaking-i_1422745.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/873/emily-dickinson-310_heart_if-i-can-stop-one-heart-from-breaking-i_1422745.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/873/emily-dickinson-310_heart_if-i-can-stop-one-heart-from-breaking-i_1422745.jpg) > “If I can stop one heart from breaking, I shall not live in vain.” [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Desire to make a meaningful impact by preventing suffering. **In simple terms:** Want to help others to feel fulfilled. Key Takeaway Help others to find purpose. Themes compassion purpose service legacy Mood hopeful reflective Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - volunteering - counseling - support groups Key Concepts altruism meaningfulness Questions to Reflect On - Who can you support today? - What does a meaningful life look like? A Different Perspective Self‑sacrifice may lead to burnout. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Vain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vain/) ## Related quotes > [If I can stop one heart from breaking…” Emily Dickinson If I can stop one heart from breaking, I shall not live in vain;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/if-i-can-stop-one-heart-from-breaking-emily-dickinson-if-i-can-stop/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [If I can stop one Heart from breaking I shall not live in vain If I can ease one life the Aching Or cool…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/if-i-can-stop-one-heart-from-breaking-i-shall-not-live-in-vain-if-i/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [For who can stop the heart from breaking?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-paton/for-who-can-stop-the-heart-from-breaking/) [Alan Paton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-paton/) > [“Or help one fainting Robin Unto his Nest again I shall not live in vain.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/or-help-one-fainting-robin-unto-his-nest-again-i-shall-not-live-in/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [My heart dont stop, My Heart be beating over, My loving dont stop, Even though its over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rihanna/my-heart-dont-stop-my-heart-be-beating-over-my-loving-dont-stop-even/) [Rihanna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rihanna/) > [Even though we went our seperate ways, I still can't stop my heart from missing you. I still love you, no matter how many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darkbrownmarilynminaj/even-though-we-went-our-seperate-ways-i-still-can-t-stop-my-heart/) DarkBrownMarilynMinaj > [“Literature can stop my heart and execute me for a moment, allow me to become someone else.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/literature-can-stop-my-heart-and-execute-me-for-a-moment-allow-me-to/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [Don't try to stop your heart from falling in love, because in the end it may be worth it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fad-ibra/don-t-try-to-stop-your-heart-from-falling-in-love-because-in-the-end/) [Fad Ibra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fad-ibra/) > [Its not the fact that I dont feel anything for you, it's the fact I wish to stop. My heart stops every time I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/its-not-the-fact-that-i-dont-feel-anything-for-you-it-s-the-fact-i/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Dictionaries stop where the heart starts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foenkinos/dictionaries-stop-where-the-heart-starts/) [David Foenkinos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foenkinos/) > [There are moments that stop the heart, that catch the breath, that halt the beat of blood in your veins, and you are suspended…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-cormier/there-are-moments-that-stop-the-heart-that-catch-the-breath-that-halt/) [Robert Cormier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-cormier/) > [You're crushing my dreams...darling please stop before my heart breaks completely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenna-goldberg/you-re-crushing-my-dreams-darling-please-stop-before-my-heart-breaks/) Jenna Goldberg > [“How many losses does it take to stop a heart, to lay waste to the vocabularies of desire?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorianne-laux/how-many-losses-does-it-take-to-stop-a-heart-to-lay-waste-to-the/) [Dorianne Laux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorianne-laux/) > ['Don't blush When I look at you don't stop your heart that trembles for me. Don't be afraid to give me a kiss and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-guzaldo/don-t-blush-when-i-look-at-you-don-t-stop-your-heart-that-trembles/) [Andrew Guzaldo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-guzaldo/) > [You stop my heart I can't focus on anything cause you stop my heart and you get to beat it back again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melanie-fiona/you-stop-my-heart-i-can-t-focus-on-anything-cause-you-stop-my-heart/) [Melanie Fiona](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melanie-fiona/) ## More by Emily Dickinson > [A Light exists in Spring Not present on the Year At any other period - When March is scarcely here A Color stands abroad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/a-light-exists-in-spring-not-present-on-the-year-at-any-other-period/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [I could not prove the Years had feet-/Yet confident they run.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/i-could-not-prove-the-years-had-feet-yet-confident-they-run/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [How softly summer shuts, without the creaking of a door.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/how-softly-summer-shuts-without-the-creaking-of-a-door/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [“Could you tell me how to grow--or is it unconveyed--like Melody--or Witchcraft?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/could-you-tell-me-how-to-grow-or-is-it-unconveyed-like-melody-or/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [It might be lonelier Without the Loneliness - I’m so accustomed to my Fate - Perhaps the Other - Peace - Would interrupt the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/it-might-be-lonelier-without-the-loneliness-i-m-so-accustomed-to-my/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [“Inebriate of Air — am I — And Debauchee of Dew — Reeling — thro endless summer days — From Inns of Molten Blue —”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/inebriate-of-air-am-i-and-debauchee-of-dew-reeling-thro-endless/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [Luck is not chance, it's toil; fortune's expensive smile is earned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/luck-is-not-chance-it-s-toil-fortune-s-expensive-smile-is-earned/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [The abdication of Belief Makes the Behavior small- Better an ignis fatuus Than no illume at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/the-abdication-of-belief-makes-the-behavior-small-better-an-ignis/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [Longing is like a seed that wrestles in the ground](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/longing-is-like-a-seed-that-wrestles-in-the-ground/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [“He ate and drank the precious words, His spirit grew robust; He knew no more that he was poor, Nor that his frame was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/he-ate-and-drank-the-precious-words-his-spirit-grew-robust-he-knew-no/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [I SEE thee better in the dark, I do not need a light. The love of thee a prism be Excelling violet. I see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/i-see-thee-better-in-the-dark-i-do-not-need-a-light-the-love-of-thee/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [One step at a time is all it takes to get you there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/one-step-at-a-time-is-all-it-takes-to-get-you-there/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [“Whose fingers string the stalactite- Who counts the Wampum of the night”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/whose-fingers-string-the-stalactite-who-counts-the-wampum-of-the-night/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [My life closed twice before its close](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/my-life-closed-twice-before-its-close/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [Until you have loved, you cannot become yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/until-you-have-loved-you-cannot-become-yourself/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) [Explore all 692 Emily Dickinson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) ## More Heart quotes > [Against his own will, almost, Will felt himself understanding; he would have done anything, he thought, told any lie, taken any risk, to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/against-his-own-will-almost-will-felt-himself-understanding-he-would/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [“He held her like a new woman and what she felt felt almost as good as love had, and each of them called it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-dunn/he-held-her-like-a-new-woman-and-what-she-felt-felt-almost-as-good-as/) [Stephen Dunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-dunn/) > [While we've youth in our hearts, we can never grow old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/while-we-ve-youth-in-our-hearts-we-can-never-grow-old/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [My heart jumps out of its cage to see what the fuss is about. Damn thing. Always so hopeful, but my voice hides it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-wylie/my-heart-jumps-out-of-its-cage-to-see-what-the-fuss-is-about-damn/) [Sarah Wylie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-wylie/) > [I love because there is not enough room in my heart to hate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rena-kornreich-gelissen/i-love-because-there-is-not-enough-room-in-my-heart-to-hate/) Rena Kornreich Gelissen > [“He didn't break my heart. No one can break your heart except you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-zevin/he-didn-t-break-my-heart-no-one-can-break-your-heart-except-you/) [Gabrielle Zevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-zevin/) > [The United States cannot and should not discriminate on the basis of religion. The free exercise of religion is at the very heart of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-pence/the-united-states-cannot-and-should-not-discriminate-on-the-basis-of/) [Mike Pence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-pence/) > [Love is like that, fragile and light. No wonder it rests upon our hearts in intangible moments, bids us follow fleeting thoughts and ideas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-is-like-that-fragile-and-light-no-wonder-it-rests-upon-our/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When we are capable of living in the moment free from the tyranny of "shoulds," free from the nagging sensation that this moment isn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-z-borysenko/when-we-are-capable-of-living-in-the-moment-free-from-the-tyranny-of/) [Joan Z. Borysenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-z-borysenko/) > [My father longed for a better life for us, and when I was nine he got a job as a heart surgeon in Belfast.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-melua/my-father-longed-for-a-better-life-for-us-and-when-i-was-nine-he-got/) [Katie Melua](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-melua/) > [O tiger's heart wrapped in a woman's hide!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/o-tiger-s-heart-wrapped-in-a-woman-s-hide/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Love will fan the flame, and that flame will warm the heart that's waiting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-w-smith/love-will-fan-the-flame-and-that-flame-will-warm-the-heart-that-s/) [Michael W. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-w-smith/) > [Always have the fear of God in your heart, and remember that God is always with you, everywhere, whether you are walking or sitting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennadius-of-constantinople/always-have-the-fear-of-god-in-your-heart-and-remember-that-god-is/) [Gennadius of Constantinople](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennadius-of-constantinople/) > [Set NOT your hearts on the flowers of this world. They shall fade and die. Prize the Rose of Sharon and the Lily of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/set-not-your-hearts-on-the-flowers-of-this-world-they-shall-fade-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“She couldn't break the orbit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/she-couldn-t-break-the-orbit/) [Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) [Browse all 45,172 Heart quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If I can stop one heart from breaking, I shall not live in vain.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Emily Dickinson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/if-i-can-stop-one-heart-from-breaking-i-shall-not-live-in-vain/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Heart" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/if-i-can-stop-one-heart-from-breaking-i-shall-not-live-in-vain/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/873/emily-dickinson-310_heart_if-i-can-stop-one-heart-from-breaking-i_1422745.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/873/emily-dickinson-310_heart_if-i-can-stop-one-heart-from-breaking-i_1422745.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/873/emily-dickinson-310_heart_if-i-can-stop-one-heart-from-breaking-i_1422745.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If I can stop one heart from breaking, I shall not live in vain.” — Emily Dickinson", "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": "Emily Dickinson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If I can stop one heart...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/if-i-can-stop-one-heart-from-breaking-i-shall-not-live-in-vain/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/if-i-can-stop-one-heart-from-breaking-i-shall-not-live-in-vain/#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 } } ] } ```