--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Parents have such formidable power. They…" description: "\"“Parents have such formidable power. They can protect you from all the pain in the world. Or inflict the hardest pain of all. And as children we accept..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aef/linda-olsson-22069_parenting_parents-have-such-formidable-power-they_1465786.jpg" --- # Parents have such formidable power. They can protect you… ![“Parents have such formidable power. They can protect you from all the pain in the world. Or inflict the hardest pain of all. And as children we accept what we get. Perhaps we believe that anything is better than that which we all fear the most. Loneliness. Abandonment. But once you accept that…” quote by Linda Olsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aef/linda-olsson-22069_parenting_parents-have-such-formidable-power-they_1465786.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aef/linda-olsson-22069_parenting_parents-have-such-formidable-power-they_1465786.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aef/linda-olsson-22069_parenting_parents-have-such-formidable-power-they_1465786.jpg) > ““Parents have such formidable power. They can protect you from all the pain in the world. Or inflict the hardest pain of all. And as children we accept what we get. Perhaps we believe that anything is better than that which we all fear the most. Loneliness. Abandonment. But once you accept that fact that you have always been alone, and will always be, then your perspective can being to change. You can become aware of the small kindnesses, the little comforts. Be grateful for them. And with time you will understand that there is nothing to fear. And much to be grateful for. For me, the realization took a lifetime. Don't let it take you that long, Veronika. (189)”” [Linda Olsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-olsson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. When we accept our inherent loneliness, we can shift focus to small kindnesses, reducing fear and increasing gratitude. **In simple terms:** Accepting aloneness reveals gratitude. Key Takeaway Embrace solitude, notice kindness. Themes loneliness acceptance gratitude personal growth Mood reflective hopeful Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - therapy - personal journaling - support groups - daily reflection Key Concepts existentialism mindfulness Questions to Reflect On - What small kindness did you overlook today? - How can you nurture connection without fear? A Different Perspective Loneliness can also motivate harmful isolation if not balanced with connection. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Comforts Grateful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comforts-grateful-5306326/) [Fear Grateful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear-grateful-2272233/) [Fear Loneliness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear-loneliness-537939/) [Grateful Realization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grateful-realization-3086588/) [Loneliness Abandonment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loneliness-abandonment-813020/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) ## Related quotes > [“Perhaps we believe that anything is better than that which we all fear the most. Loneliness. Abandonment. But once you accept that fact that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-olsson/perhaps-we-believe-that-anything-is-better-than-that-which-we-all/) [Linda Olsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-olsson/) > [How many human beings anywhere, hold on to a relationship merely because it exists? This fear of loneliness, abandonment, or failure can, if we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-inglis-anderson/how-many-human-beings-anywhere-hold-on-to-a-relationship-merely/) [Walter Inglis Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-inglis-anderson/) > [“But once you accept the fact that you have always been alone, and will always be, then your perspective can begin to change. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-olsson/but-once-you-accept-the-fact-that-you-have-always-been-alone-and-will/) [Linda Olsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-olsson/) > [In the past, I used to think that it is fundamental and natural to have everything. But I realized that is not true. Instead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goo-hye-sun/in-the-past-i-used-to-think-that-it-is-fundamental-and-natural-to/) [Goo Hye Sun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goo-hye-sun/) > [No longer forward or behind I look in hope or fear, But grateful, take the good I find, The best of now and here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-greenleaf-whittier/no-longer-forward-or-behind-i-look-in-hope-or-fear-but-grateful-take/) [John Greenleaf Whittier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-greenleaf-whittier/) > [No longer forward nor behind I look in hope and fear, But grateful take the good I find, The best of now and here…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pooja/no-longer-forward-nor-behind-i-look-in-hope-and-fear-but-grateful/) [Pooja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pooja/) > [“My fear of loneliness is like a disease.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irene-tomkinson/my-fear-of-loneliness-is-like-a-disease/) [Irene Tomkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irene-tomkinson/) > [We all fear loneliness, madness, dying. Shakespeare and Walt Whitman, Leopardi and Hart Crane will not cure those fears. And yet these poets bring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/we-all-fear-loneliness-madness-dying-shakespeare-and-walt-whitman/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [And not out of fear or loneliness, but only to find myself again... for we have come too far my Life, to turn back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-not-out-of-fear-or-loneliness-but-only-to-find-myself-again-for/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“You consider me for a moment, perhaps balancing the weight of your fear against the loneliness you will later feel in your room if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-mankowski/you-consider-me-for-a-moment-perhaps-balancing-the-weight-of-your/) [Guy Mankowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-mankowski/) > [If you fear loneliness, then don't get married.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/if-you-fear-loneliness-then-don-t-get-married/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [The worst thing isn't a fear of commitment, the worst thing is being with the wrong person because of a fear of loneliness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-worst-thing-isn-t-a-fear-of-commitment-the-worst-thing-is-being/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I have a lot of friends, but my biggest fear is loneliness. I miss my family in Mumbai, and my biggest nightmare every day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepika-padukone/i-have-a-lot-of-friends-but-my-biggest-fear-is-loneliness-i-miss-my/) [Deepika Padukone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepika-padukone/) > [Democratic man, as I have remarked, is quite unable to think of himself as a free individual; he must belong to a group, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-louis-mencken/democratic-man-as-i-have-remarked-is-quite-unable-to-think-of-himself/) [Henry Louis Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-louis-mencken/) > [Fear is the process of the mind in the struggle of becoming. In becoming good there is the fear of evil; in becoming complete,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/fear-is-the-process-of-the-mind-in-the-struggle-of-becoming-in/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) ## More by Linda Olsson > [Memories seem to surface in no particular order, with no time attached. Yesterday can seem as distant as last year. My life now consists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-olsson/memories-seem-to-surface-in-no-particular-order-with-no-time-attached/) [Linda Olsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-olsson/) > [“My life's memories take up space with no regard to when they happened, or to their actual time span. The memories of brief incidents…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-olsson/my-life-s-memories-take-up-space-with-no-regard-to-when-they-happened/) [Linda Olsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-olsson/) > [“My life now consists of fragments where some are so blinding in their intensity that they make everything else indistinguishable. What shall I do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-olsson/my-life-now-consists-of-fragments-where-some-are-so-blinding-in-their/) [Linda Olsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-olsson/) > [Like memories. You can make yourself believe that they have been erased. But they are there, if you look closely. If you have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-olsson/like-memories-you-can-make-yourself-believe-that-they-have-been/) [Linda Olsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-olsson/) > [“You can make yourself believe that someone can look into your eyes and read your mind. You can wish for it, or dread it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-olsson/you-can-make-yourself-believe-that-someone-can-look-into-your-eyes/) [Linda Olsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-olsson/) > [“I think that perhaps there are no such defining moments at all. Beginnings and ends are fluid, long chains of events where some links…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-olsson/i-think-that-perhaps-there-are-no-such-defining-moments-at-all/) [Linda Olsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-olsson/) > [“I have never talked to anyone about that night. Ever...' she said. 'And now when I listen to my own words, I realise that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-olsson/i-have-never-talked-to-anyone-about-that-night-ever-she-said-and-now/) [Linda Olsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-olsson/) > [“Det korteste streif av ekte kjærlighet kan gi næring til et helt liv. Det må vi alltid huske.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-olsson/det-korteste-streif-av-ekte-kj-rlighet-kan-gi-n-ring-til-et-helt-liv/) [Linda Olsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-olsson/) > [“My aloneness had never bothered me; I hadn't even been aware of it. But now it overwhelmed me. The awareness washed over me with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-olsson/my-aloneness-had-never-bothered-me-i-hadn-t-even-been-aware-of-it-but/) [Linda Olsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-olsson/) > [Sometimes we are given exactly what we need. The precise people that you need the most come stumbling into your life. Sometimes you don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-olsson/sometimes-we-are-given-exactly-what-we-need-the-precise-people-that/) [Linda Olsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-olsson/) > [“Unlike film, real life rarely provides an opportunity for a retake," Ben said. "Perhaps that is why I like film so much. But I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-olsson/unlike-film-real-life-rarely-provides-an-opportunity-for-a-retake-ben/) [Linda Olsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-olsson/) > [“I lay down on the bed clasping the pictures and buried my face in the pillow in a vain attempt at silencing my sobs.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-olsson/i-lay-down-on-the-bed-clasping-the-pictures-and-buried-my-face-in-the/) [Linda Olsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-olsson/) > [“My poor little child Karin Boye My poor child, so afraid of the dark, who has met ghosts of another kind, who always among…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-olsson/my-poor-little-child-karin-boye-my-poor-child-so-afraid-of-the-dark/) [Linda Olsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-olsson/) > [“Perhaps we believe that anything is better than that which we all fear the most. Loneliness. Abandonment. But once you accept that fact that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-olsson/perhaps-we-believe-that-anything-is-better-than-that-which-we-all/) [Linda Olsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-olsson/) > [“I think that if we can find the words, and if we can find someone to tell them to, then perhaps we can see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-olsson/i-think-that-if-we-can-find-the-words-and-if-we-can-find-someone-to/) [Linda Olsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-olsson/) [Explore all 26 Linda Olsson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-olsson/) ## More Parenting quotes > [My mother says I didn't open my eyes for eight days after I was born, but when I did, the first thing I saw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-taylor/my-mother-says-i-didn-t-open-my-eyes-for-eight-days-after-i-was-born/) [Elizabeth Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-taylor/) > [Of all the people who have affected my life and influenced the choices I've made, none has been more important than my father. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/of-all-the-people-who-have-affected-my-life-and-influenced-the/) [Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/) > [“William didn't look like he'd be difficult about anything - he was thin and sandy-haired and already wore eyeglasses like his father. Most of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-c-wrede/william-didn-t-look-like-he-d-be-difficult-about-anything-he-was-thin/) [Patricia C. Wrede](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-c-wrede/) > [I know for my wife and I, we always loved the idea of being young parents. It is an incredibly inspiring and challenging job…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-hanson/i-know-for-my-wife-and-i-we-always-loved-the-idea-of-being-young/) [Taylor Hanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-hanson/) > [“Conception is the beginning of human life. From the time that an ovum is fertilized a new life begins that is neither that of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/declaration-on-procured-abortion-congregation-for-the-doctrine-of-the-faith-1974/conception-is-the-beginning-of-human-life-from-the-time-that-an-ovum/) [Declaration on Procured Abortion Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith 1974](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/declaration-on-procured-abortion-congregation-for-the-doctrine-of-the-faith-1974/) > [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“As members of the Church, there are things you cannot do. For one, you cannot take a Las Vegas-style vacation. I do not know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-grant-bangerter/as-members-of-the-church-there-are-things-you-cannot-do-for-one-you/) [William Grant Bangerter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-grant-bangerter/) > [“That’s all! Now either leave us alone or join us as a father rather than a receiver of sacrifices. You have the choice of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/that-s-all-now-either-leave-us-alone-or-join-us-as-a-father-rather/) [Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) > [(knitting while on a motorcycle) "For several years she knitted in secret (my father would not approve; she was to concentrate on motorcycling and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-zimmermann/knitting-while-on-a-motorcycle-for-several-years-she-knitted-in/) [Elizabeth Zimmermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-zimmermann/) > [My embarrassing confession is that my father is a 'Camelot: The Musical' obsessive. 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Noise scared him, dark…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/yes-the-issue-was-courage-it-always-had-been-even-as-a-kid-things/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [“My father called twice and left a voicemail—who does that?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-erickson/my-father-called-twice-and-left-a-voicemail-who-does-that/) [Megan Erickson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-erickson/) > [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/) [Browse all 55,672 Parenting quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Parents have such formidable power. They can protect you from all the pain in the world. 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