---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Mal: We're still flying. Simon: That's…"
description: "\"“Mal: We're still flying. Simon: That's not much. Mal: It's enough - from Firefly”\" — Joss Whedon"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a86/joss-whedon-480_firefly_mal-we-re-still-flying-simon-that-s-not_1389811.png"
---

#  Mal: We're still flying. Simon: That's not much. Mal: It's…

![“Mal: We're still flying. Simon: That's not much. Mal: It's enough - from Firefly” quote by Joss Whedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a86/joss-whedon-480_firefly_mal-we-re-still-flying-simon-that-s-not_1389811.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a86/joss-whedon-480_firefly_mal-we-re-still-flying-simon-that-s-not_1389811.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a86/joss-whedon-480_firefly_mal-we-re-still-flying-simon-that-s-not_1389811.png)

> ““Mal: We're still flying. Simon: That's not much. Mal: It's enough - from Firefly””

[Joss Whedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joss-whedon/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Mal acknowledges they are still flying, albeit barely, which is sufficient.

**In simple terms:** Even minimal flight is enough.

Key Takeaway

Appreciate small progress toward goals.

Themes

perseverance hope resourcefulness teamwork

Mood

hopeful pragmatic

Type

inspirational motivational

When to use this quote

- space missions
- personal setbacks
- project milestones

Key Concepts

minimal success survival optimism

Questions to Reflect On

- What does “enough” mean in your context?
- How do you measure when progress is sufficient?

A Different Perspective

Minimal progress may be insufficient for survival.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Firefly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firefly/) [Flying Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flying-simon-4839379/) [Mal Firefly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mal-firefly-4839376/) [Mal Flying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mal-flying-4839377/) [Simon Mal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/simon-mal-4839378/)

## Related quotes

> [Half of writing history is hiding the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joss-whedon/half-of-writing-history-is-hiding-the-truth/)

[Joss Whedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joss-whedon/)

> [That girl will rain destruction down on you and your ship. She is an albatross, Captain. Way I remember it, albatross was a ship's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joss-whedon/that-girl-will-rain-destruction-down-on-you-and-your-ship-she-is-an/)

[Joss Whedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joss-whedon/)

> [We'll never make Firefly again, because that was a thing that existed and is now gone. And Serenity isn't Firefly, and whatever comes next…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joss-whedon/we-ll-never-make-firefly-again-because-that-was-a-thing-that-existed/)

[Joss Whedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joss-whedon/)

> [If you can't do something smart, do something right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joss-whedon/if-you-can-t-do-something-smart-do-something-right/)

[Joss Whedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joss-whedon/)

> [“It's my estimation that every man ever got a statue made of him was one kind of sumbitch or another. -- Malcolm Reynolds”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joss-whedon/it-s-my-estimation-that-every-man-ever-got-a-statue-made-of-him-was/)

[Joss Whedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joss-whedon/)

> [Ain't all buttons and charts, little albatross. Know what the first rule of flying is? Well I s'pose you do, since you already know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joss-whedon/ain-t-all-buttons-and-charts-little-albatross-know-what-the-first/)

[Joss Whedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joss-whedon/)

> [Shiny, let's be bad guys!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joss-whedon/shiny-let-s-be-bad-guys/)

[Joss Whedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joss-whedon/)

> [People always say I write a lot of pop culture references. Can somebody please count the pop culture references in 'Firefly?' Because I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joss-whedon/people-always-say-i-write-a-lot-of-pop-culture-references-can/)

[Joss Whedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joss-whedon/)

> [Time for some thrillin' heroics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joss-whedon/time-for-some-thrillin-heroics/)

[Joss Whedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joss-whedon/)

> [Psychic, though? That sounds like something out of science fiction. We live in a space ship, dear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joss-whedon/psychic-though-that-sounds-like-something-out-of-science-fiction-we/)

[Joss Whedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joss-whedon/)

> [You can't take the sky from me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joss-whedon/you-can-t-take-the-sky-from-me/)

[Joss Whedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joss-whedon/)

> [Doctor, I'm taking your sister under my protection. If any thing happens to her, anything at all, I swear to you I will get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joss-whedon/doctor-i-m-taking-your-sister-under-my-protection-if-any-thing/)

[Joss Whedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joss-whedon/)

> [We have done the impossible. And that makes us mighty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joss-whedon/we-have-done-the-impossible-and-that-makes-us-mighty/)

[Joss Whedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joss-whedon/)

> [I really love 'Serenity.' I'm really proud of it and excited to see it my guys on the big screen, bringing something new to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joss-whedon/i-really-love-serenity-i-m-really-proud-of-it-and-excited-to-see-it/)

[Joss Whedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joss-whedon/)

> [Captain, I think you have a problem with your brain being missing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joss-whedon/captain-i-think-you-have-a-problem-with-your-brain-being-missing/)

[Joss Whedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joss-whedon/)

## More by Joss Whedon

> [I do remember what I said. The promise. To protect her. If I'd done that ... even if I didn't make it, you wouldn't've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joss-whedon/i-do-remember-what-i-said-the-promise-to-protect-her-if-i-d-done-that/)

[Joss Whedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joss-whedon/)

> [Every vampire fiction reinvents vampires to its own needs. You take what you want.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joss-whedon/every-vampire-fiction-reinvents-vampires-to-its-own-needs-you-take/)

[Joss Whedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joss-whedon/)

> [When you're making a film, you have an obligation to fill the frame with life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joss-whedon/when-you-re-making-a-film-you-have-an-obligation-to-fill-the-frame/)

[Joss Whedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joss-whedon/)

> [Everything we do really is just a little marker on the long road to death. And sometimes that’s overwhelmingly depressing to me, and sometimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joss-whedon/everything-we-do-really-is-just-a-little-marker-on-the-long-road-to/)

[Joss Whedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joss-whedon/)

> [At the end of the day I have many answers for it. It has to do with my mom, who was an extraordinary woman,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joss-whedon/at-the-end-of-the-day-i-have-many-answers-for-it-it-has-to-do-with-my/)

[Joss Whedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joss-whedon/)

> [“Why aren’t you asking a hundred other guys why they don’t write strong women characters? I believe that what I’m doing should not be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joss-whedon/why-aren-t-you-asking-a-hundred-other-guys-why-they-don-t-write/)

[Joss Whedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joss-whedon/)

> [People feel removed from sexism. 'I'm not a sexist, but I'm not a feminist.' They think there's this fuzzy middle ground. There's no fuzzy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joss-whedon/people-feel-removed-from-sexism-i-m-not-a-sexist-but-i-m-not-a/)

[Joss Whedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joss-whedon/)

> [Even in the darkness, every color can be found. And every day of rain brings water flowing to things growing in the ground.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joss-whedon/even-in-the-darkness-every-color-can-be-found-and-every-day-of-rain/)

[Joss Whedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joss-whedon/)

> [I never tire of the heroes that I knew growing up. The fun is not that much different from doing a television show: You're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joss-whedon/i-never-tire-of-the-heroes-that-i-knew-growing-up-the-fun-is-not-that/)

[Joss Whedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joss-whedon/)

> [Don't just be yourself. Be all of your selves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joss-whedon/don-t-just-be-yourself-be-all-of-your-selves/)

[Joss Whedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joss-whedon/)

> [I always watch what I say. I am what I say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joss-whedon/i-always-watch-what-i-say-i-am-what-i-say/)

[Joss Whedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joss-whedon/)

> [Remember to always be yourself. Unless you suck.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joss-whedon/remember-to-always-be-yourself-unless-you-suck/)

[Joss Whedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joss-whedon/)

> [I've become less cynical, which is appalling but kind of cool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joss-whedon/i-ve-become-less-cynical-which-is-appalling-but-kind-of-cool/)

[Joss Whedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joss-whedon/)

> [“Xander: It could be witches, some evil witches, which is ridiculous cause witched they were persecuted, women power, love the eatrh, and I'll be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joss-whedon/xander-it-could-be-witches-some-evil-witches-which-is-ridiculous/)

[Joss Whedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joss-whedon/)

> [There's a lot of anger in the Twitter-verse, as I've discovered. But there's a lot of love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joss-whedon/there-s-a-lot-of-anger-in-the-twitter-verse-as-i-ve-discovered-but/)

[Joss Whedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joss-whedon/)

[Explore all 529 Joss Whedon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joss-whedon/)

## More Firefly quotes

> [This was just one night, one chance to vary and see where it took me. The fireflies were probably already out: maybe it wasn’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/this-was-just-one-night-one-chance-to-vary-and-see-where-it-took-me/)

[Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/)

> [Precise, graceful, and generous, the poems in SuperLoop, seem to be born out of a deep, careful attention and a profound compassion. Sometimes the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ada-limon/precise-graceful-and-generous-the-poems-in-superloop-seem-to-be-born/)

[Ada Limon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ada-limon/)

> [“Besides, what if BSG and Firefly took place in the same universe? You ever consider that?” I”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-cline/besides-what-if-bsg-and-firefly-took-place-in-the-same-universe-you/)

[Ernest Cline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-cline/)

> [Our galaxy is 10 billion years old. The Earth is only 4.5 billion years old. We are a firefly flicker in the great astrobiology…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-marcy/our-galaxy-is-10-billion-years-old-the-earth-is-only-4-5-billion/)

[Geoffrey Marcy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-marcy/)

> [I did not get my Spaghetti-O's, I got spaghetti. I want the press to know this.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-j-grasso/i-did-not-get-my-spaghetti-o-s-i-got-spaghetti-i-want-the-press-to/)

[Thomas J. Grasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-j-grasso/)

> [The firefly only shines when on the wing, So it is with us--when we stop, we darken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-karon/the-firefly-only-shines-when-on-the-wing-so-it-is-with-us-when-we/)

[Jan Karon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-karon/)

> [“None of that “the day is over, now I can chill in front of my Firefly DVDs for the seventeenth time” warmth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-m-reine/none-of-that-the-day-is-over-now-i-can-chill-in-front-of-my-firefly/)

[S.M. Reine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-m-reine/)

> [I love Prospect Park-watching fireflies at night and going to the bandshell for free music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abbey-lee-kershaw/i-love-prospect-park-watching-fireflies-at-night-and-going-to-the/)

[Abbey Lee Kershaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abbey-lee-kershaw/)

> [What is life? It is the flash of a firefly in the night. It is the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crowfoot/what-is-life-it-is-the-flash-of-a-firefly-in-the-night-it-is-the/)

[Crowfoot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crowfoot/)

> [They used to call me Firefly when I was a little girl, and I always tried to figure out why I was being called…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-jones/they-used-to-call-me-firefly-when-i-was-a-little-girl-and-i-always/)

[Grace Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-jones/)

> [I believe there are two sides to the phenomenon known as death, this side where we live, and the other side where we shall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crowfoot/i-believe-there-are-two-sides-to-the-phenomenon-known-as-death-this/)

[Crowfoot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crowfoot/)

> [I thought that a man can be an enemy of other men, of the moments of other men, but not of a country: not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/i-thought-that-a-man-can-be-an-enemy-of-other-men-of-the-moments-of/)

[Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/)

> [Half of writing history is hiding the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joss-whedon/half-of-writing-history-is-hiding-the-truth/)

[Joss Whedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joss-whedon/)

> [She gazed toward the marsh that grew thicker, deeper, greener with approaching summer. Mosquitoes whined in there, breeding in the dark water. Alligators slid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/she-gazed-toward-the-marsh-that-grew-thicker-deeper-greener-with/)

[Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/)

> [“Imama had in her palm a tiny firefly of guidance, and in the burst of its light, she had made her way through every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umera-ahmed/imama-had-in-her-palm-a-tiny-firefly-of-guidance-and-in-the-burst-of/)

[Umera Ahmed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umera-ahmed/)

[Browse all 159 Firefly quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firefly/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“Mal: We're still flying. Simon: That's not much. Mal: It's enough - from Firefly”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Joss Whedon"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joss-whedon/mal-we-re-still-flying-simon-that-s-not-much-mal-it-s-enough-from/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Firefly"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joss-whedon/mal-we-re-still-flying-simon-that-s-not-much-mal-it-s-enough-from/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a86/joss-whedon-480_firefly_mal-we-re-still-flying-simon-that-s-not_1389811.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a86/joss-whedon-480_firefly_mal-we-re-still-flying-simon-that-s-not_1389811.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a86/joss-whedon-480_firefly_mal-we-re-still-flying-simon-that-s-not_1389811.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Mal: We're still flying. Simon: That's not much. Mal: It's enough - from Firefly” — Joss Whedon",
                "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": "Joss Whedon",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joss-whedon/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“Mal: We're still flying. Simon: That's...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joss-whedon/mal-we-re-still-flying-simon-that-s-not-much-mal-it-s-enough-from/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joss-whedon/mal-we-re-still-flying-simon-that-s-not-much-mal-it-s-enough-from/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
