--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We can't change the moon but we can live…" description: "\"We can't change the moon but we can live in harmony with its tides, and we can make some ripples of our own.\" — Germaine Greer" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/362/germaine-greer-1521_can-t-change_we-can-t-change-the-moon-but-we-can-live_2779555.png" --- # We can't change the moon but we can live in harmony with… ![“We can't change the moon but we can live in harmony with its tides, and we can make some ripples of our own.” quote by Germaine Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/362/germaine-greer-1521_can-t-change_we-can-t-change-the-moon-but-we-can-live_2779555.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/362/germaine-greer-1521_can-t-change_we-can-t-change-the-moon-but-we-can-live_2779555.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/362/germaine-greer-1521_can-t-change_we-can-t-change-the-moon-but-we-can-live_2779555.png) > “We can't change the moon but we can live in harmony with its tides, and we can make some ripples of our own.” [Germaine Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germaine-greer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human influence is limited to adapting to natural cycles, yet we can create meaningful impacts within those bounds. **In simple terms:** Live with nature, make small impacts. Key Takeaway Align actions with natural rhythms. Themes environment agency adaptation Mood hopeful determined Type inspirational practical When to use this quote - climate activism - urban planning - personal lifestyle - community projects Key Concepts sustainability ecology Questions to Reflect On - What small actions can ripple outward? - How do you measure personal impact? A Different Perspective Large systemic change may be beyond individual control. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Can't change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/can-t-change/) [Change Moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change-moon-3300260/) [Harmony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/harmony/) [Harmony Tides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/harmony-tides-3300261/) [Make Ripples](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/make-ripples-1093629/) [Moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moon/) [Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace/) [Ripple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ripple/) [Ripples](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ripples/) [Tides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tides/) ## Related quotes > [“Our lives make ripples… Not even death can stop them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurel-garver/our-lives-make-ripples-not-even-death-can-stop-them/) [Laurel Garver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurel-garver/) > [“no matter how small a stone she was, she’d make her own ripples in the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-duncan/no-matter-how-small-a-stone-she-was-she-d-make-her-own-ripples-in-the/) [Leigh Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-duncan/) > [Dwellers by the sea cannot fail to be impressed by the sight of its ceaseless ebb and flow, and are apt, on the principles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-g-frazer/dwellers-by-the-sea-cannot-fail-to-be-impressed-by-the-sight-of-its/) [James G. Frazer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-g-frazer/) > [A change of fortune hurts a wise man no more than a change of the moon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/a-change-of-fortune-hurts-a-wise-man-no-more-than-a-change-of-the-moon/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [If you have a problem with the Moon in the sky and you are unhappy, change yourself, because the Moon won't change!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/if-you-have-a-problem-with-the-moon-in-the-sky-and-you-are-unhappy/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Just as a pebble thrown into the water creates ripples, so our thoughts create similar effects on our palms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-scott/just-as-a-pebble-thrown-into-the-water-creates-ripples-so-our/) [Michael Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-scott/) > [“We make the flow against what ripples us and we make the ripple against what stops us”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-s-jagadeesh-kumar/we-make-the-flow-against-what-ripples-us-and-we-make-the-ripple/) [P.S. Jagadeesh Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-s-jagadeesh-kumar/) > [Our wings are small but the ripples of the heart are infinite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-ray/our-wings-are-small-but-the-ripples-of-the-heart-are-infinite/) [Amit Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-ray/) > [I have listened to many tales in my life, and told a few of my own. If this has taught me anything, it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juliet-marillier/i-have-listened-to-many-tales-in-my-life-and-told-a-few-of-my-own-if/) [Juliet Marillier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juliet-marillier/) > [The mind is like a lake. It reflects eternity when it's very still. If ripples appear, lots of them, then the reflection is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/the-mind-is-like-a-lake-it-reflects-eternity-when-it-s-very-still-if/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [You want to be the pebble in the pond that creates the ripples for change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cook/you-want-to-be-the-pebble-in-the-pond-that-creates-the-ripples-for/) [Tim Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cook/) > [Just as ripples spread out when a single pebble is dropped into water, the actions of individuals can have far-reaching effects.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/just-as-ripples-spread-out-when-a-single-pebble-is-dropped-into-water/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [It's like, imagine the ripples on top of an ocean. And I'm in a rowboat, reactively dealing with the waves and water coming into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-oz/it-s-like-imagine-the-ripples-on-top-of-an-ocean-and-i-m-in-a-rowboat/) [Mehmet Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-oz/) > [I think we ripple on into others, just like a stone puts its ripples into a brook. That, for me, too, is a source…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/i-think-we-ripple-on-into-others-just-like-a-stone-puts-its-ripples/) [Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) > [Certain people have said that the world is like a calm pond, and that anytime a person does even the smallest thing, it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/certain-people-have-said-that-the-world-is-like-a-calm-pond-and-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Germaine Greer > [You're only young once, but you can be immature forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germaine-greer/you-re-only-young-once-but-you-can-be-immature-forever/) [Germaine Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germaine-greer/) > [Is it too much to ask that women be spared the daily struggle for superhuman beauty in order to offer it to the caresses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germaine-greer/is-it-too-much-to-ask-that-women-be-spared-the-daily-struggle-for/) [Germaine Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germaine-greer/) > [“Female castration results in concentration of her feelings upon her male companion, and her impotence in confrontations with her own kind. Because all her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germaine-greer/female-castration-results-in-concentration-of-her-feelings-upon-her/) [Germaine Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germaine-greer/) > [Women have been charged with deviousness and duplicity since the dawn of civilization so they have never been able to pretend that their masks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germaine-greer/women-have-been-charged-with-deviousness-and-duplicity-since-the-dawn/) [Germaine Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germaine-greer/) > [“Psychologists cannot fix the world so they fix women.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germaine-greer/psychologists-cannot-fix-the-world-so-they-fix-women/) [Germaine Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germaine-greer/) > [Bras are a ludicrous invention; but if you make bralessness a rule, you're just subjecting yourself to yet another repression.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germaine-greer/bras-are-a-ludicrous-invention-but-if-you-make-bralessness-a-rule-you/) [Germaine Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germaine-greer/) > [The essence of pleasure is spontaneity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germaine-greer/the-essence-of-pleasure-is-spontaneity/) [Germaine Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germaine-greer/) > [If a person loves only one other person, and is indifferent to his fellow men, his love is not love but a symbiotic attachment,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germaine-greer/if-a-person-loves-only-one-other-person-and-is-indifferent-to-his/) [Germaine Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germaine-greer/) > [Gillard is as likeable as Rudd is charmless. She is self-deprecating; he is ludicrously vainglorious. She is a mistress of understatement; he is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germaine-greer/gillard-is-as-likeable-as-rudd-is-charmless-she-is-self-deprecating/) [Germaine Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germaine-greer/) > [“Liberty is terrifying but it is also exhilarating.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germaine-greer/liberty-is-terrifying-but-it-is-also-exhilarating/) [Germaine Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germaine-greer/) > [It is often falsely assumed, even by feminists, that sexuality is the enemy of the female who really wants to develop these aspects of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germaine-greer/it-is-often-falsely-assumed-even-by-feminists-that-sexuality-is-the/) [Germaine Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germaine-greer/) > [Women who were housewives, who were pretty miserable ... felt inspired by her book and their life changed. They didn't become megastars, but they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germaine-greer/women-who-were-housewives-who-were-pretty-miserable-felt-inspired-by/) [Germaine Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germaine-greer/) > [It is in our interests to let the police and their employers go on believing that the Underground is a conspiracy, because it increases…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germaine-greer/it-is-in-our-interests-to-let-the-police-and-their-employers-go-on/) [Germaine Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germaine-greer/) > [Rescuing women from their burden of unwarranted guilt is going to require 'educational practices and socializing agents' even more effective than the ones that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germaine-greer/rescuing-women-from-their-burden-of-unwarranted-guilt-is-going-to/) [Germaine Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germaine-greer/) > [Men have still not realized that letting women do so much of the work for so little reward makes a man in the house…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germaine-greer/men-have-still-not-realized-that-letting-women-do-so-much-of-the-work/) [Germaine Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germaine-greer/) [Explore all 232 Germaine Greer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germaine-greer/) ## More Can't change quotes > [Donʹt worry now about what you canʹt change. Rest when you can so youʹll be ready for tomorrowʹs battles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/don-t-worry-now-about-what-you-can-t-change-rest-when-you-can-so-you/) [Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/) > [You can't change your life. This mode in literature goes against the more middle-brown mode, which is about shaping your destiny, changing it. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-mccarthy/you-can-t-change-your-life-this-mode-in-literature-goes-against-the/) [Tommy McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-mccarthy/) > [You can't change a man, no-ways. By the time his mummy turns him loose and he takes up with some innocent woman and marries…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjorie-kinnan-rawlings/you-can-t-change-a-man-no-ways-by-the-time-his-mummy-turns-him-loose/) [Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjorie-kinnan-rawlings/) > [I don't worry about the things I can't change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferran-adria/i-don-t-worry-about-the-things-i-can-t-change/) [Ferran Adria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferran-adria/) > [Congress decides who becomes a citizen and how. To automatically say the 14th Amendment grants birthright citizenship, no, we can't change that. Amending the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/congress-decides-who-becomes-a-citizen-and-how-to-automatically-say/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [Though I can't change what happened, I can choose how to react. And I don't want to spend the rest of my life being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tori-amos/though-i-can-t-change-what-happened-i-can-choose-how-to-react-and-i/) [Tori Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-amos/) > [When a poem is really finished, you can't change anything. You can't move words around. You can't say, 'In other words, you mean.' No,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-s-merwin/when-a-poem-is-really-finished-you-can-t-change-anything-you-can-t/) [W. S. Merwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-merwin/) > [The only thing one can usually change in one's situation is oneself. And yet one can't change that either-only ask Our Lord to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/the-only-thing-one-can-usually-change-in-one-s-situation-is-oneself/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [I can't change my gender, and I refuse to stop making movies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-bigelow/i-can-t-change-my-gender-and-i-refuse-to-stop-making-movies/) [Kathryn Bigelow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-bigelow/) > [But I think it's more that when you're young, you're invincible, you're immortal - or at least you think you are. The possibilities are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damien-hirst/but-i-think-it-s-more-that-when-you-re-young-you-re-invincible-you-re/) [Damien Hirst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damien-hirst/) > [You can't change t he wor ld f rom t he rear view mir ror.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-roddick/you-can-t-change-t-he-wor-ld-f-rom-t-he-rear-view-mir-ror/) [Anita Roddick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-roddick/) > [You can't change your attitude because you're the champion. I've always kept my feet on the ground and never wanted to change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/renan-barao/you-can-t-change-your-attitude-because-you-re-the-champion-i-ve/) [Renan Barao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/renan-barao/) > [By the time you're 30, you know who you are inside. You learn to laugh at things you can't change; you learn to be yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kajol/by-the-time-you-re-30-you-know-who-you-are-inside-you-learn-to-laugh/) [Kajol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kajol/) > [Those that can't change even their toothbrush and pyjamas are trying to change the world! Let us be serious!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/those-that-can-t-change-even-their-toothbrush-and-pyjamas-are-trying/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [The message I'm sending to myself - I can't change the world until I change myself first.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kendrick-lamar/the-message-i-m-sending-to-myself-i-can-t-change-the-world-until-i/) [Kendrick Lamar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kendrick-lamar/) [Browse all 311 Can't change quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/can-t-change/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We can't change the moon but we can live in harmony with its tides, and we can make some ripples of our own.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Germaine Greer" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germaine-greer/we-can-t-change-the-moon-but-we-can-live-in-harmony-with-its-tides/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Can't change" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germaine-greer/we-can-t-change-the-moon-but-we-can-live-in-harmony-with-its-tides/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/362/germaine-greer-1521_can-t-change_we-can-t-change-the-moon-but-we-can-live_2779555.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/362/germaine-greer-1521_can-t-change_we-can-t-change-the-moon-but-we-can-live_2779555.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/362/germaine-greer-1521_can-t-change_we-can-t-change-the-moon-but-we-can-live_2779555.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We can't change the moon but we can live in harmony with its tides, and we can make some ripples of our own.” — Germaine Greer", "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": "Germaine Greer", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germaine-greer/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We can't change the moon but...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germaine-greer/we-can-t-change-the-moon-but-we-can-live-in-harmony-with-its-tides/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germaine-greer/we-can-t-change-the-moon-but-we-can-live-in-harmony-with-its-tides/#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 } } ] } ```