--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But I believed in starting over. There…" description: "\"But I believed in starting over. There was finally, I knew, only rupture and hurt and falling short between all persons, but, Shirley, the best revenge..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4c/lorrie-moore-870_be-kind_but-i-believed-in-starting-over-there-wa_20662.png" --- # But I believed in starting over. There was finally, I… ![“But I believed in starting over. There was finally, I knew, only rupture and hurt and falling short between all persons, but, Shirley, the best revenge was to turn your life into a small gathering of miracles. If I could not be anchored and profound, I would try, at least, to be kind.” quote by Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4c/lorrie-moore-870_be-kind_but-i-believed-in-starting-over-there-wa_20662.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4c/lorrie-moore-870_be-kind_but-i-believed-in-starting-over-there-wa_20662.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4c/lorrie-moore-870_be-kind_but-i-believed-in-starting-over-there-wa_20662.png) > “But I believed in starting over. There was finally, I knew, only rupture and hurt and falling short between all persons, but, Shirley, the best revenge was to turn your life into a small gathering of miracles. If I could not be anchored and profound, I would try, at least, to be kind.” [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Emphasizes that after personal failure, purpose is found by creating small, meaningful moments and practicing kindness rather than seeking revenge. **In simple terms:** Find purpose through small miracles and kindness. Key Takeaway Live purposefully through kindness. Themes Resilience Meaning Compassion Transformation Hope Mood Hopeful Reflective Type Inspirational Philosophical When to use this quote - Recovering from loss - Starting a new chapter - Building community - Healing after betrayal Key Concepts Personal growth Human connection Self‑compassion Practical Applications - Therapeutic writing - Motivational speaking Questions to Reflect On - How can small acts of kindness reshape your life? - What does ‘turning life into miracles’ mean to you? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Best revenge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/best-revenge/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Miracle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/miracle/) [Miracles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/miracles/) [Profound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/profound/) [Revenge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revenge/) [Starting over](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/starting-over/) ## Related quotes > [... in a history of spiritual rupture, a social compact built on fantasy and collective secrets, poetry becomes more necessary than ever: it keeps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/in-a-history-of-spiritual-rupture-a-social-compact-built-on-fantasy/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [I had lines inside me, a string of guiding lights. I had language. Fiction and poetry are doses, medicines. What they heal is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/i-had-lines-inside-me-a-string-of-guiding-lights-i-had-language-2/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [A thorough-paced knave will rarely quarrel with one whom he can cheat: his revenge is plunder; therefore he is usually the most forgiving of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/a-thorough-paced-knave-will-rarely-quarrel-with-one-whom-he-can-cheat/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [The idea of a rupture between acts occurs in a number of my plays.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-greenberg/the-idea-of-a-rupture-between-acts-occurs-in-a-number-of-my-plays/) [Richard Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-greenberg/) > [Photographic cropping is always experienced as a rupture in the continuous fabric of reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosalind-e-krauss/photographic-cropping-is-always-experienced-as-a-rupture-in-the/) [Rosalind E. 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When we declare ignorance, it should be a) honest and b) in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leah-hager-cohen/is-there-a-wrong-way-to-say-i-don-t-know-yes-when-we-declare/) [Leah Hager Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leah-hager-cohen/) > [ \[Fiction and poetry\] are medicines, they're doses, and they heal the rupture that reality makes on the imagination. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/fiction-and-poetry-are-medicines-they-re-doses-and-they-heal-the/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) ## More by Lorrie Moore > [I'm very interested in what people will do for money. Money: it's timeless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/i-m-very-interested-in-what-people-will-do-for-money-money-it-s/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [“One of the problems with people in Chicago, she remembered, was that they were never lonely at the same time. 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If she had been shy, not one of us would be at Perkins right now.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/amber-was-not-shy-if-she-had-been-shy-not-one-of-us-would-be-at/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [People will do anything, anything, for a really nice laugh,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/people-will-do-anything-anything-for-a-really-nice-laugh/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [“Farmers aren't rich. They have land but no money." Actually, my father didn't even have that much land. 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Here is someone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/life-is-sad-here-is-someone/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [I had never feared insomnia before--like prison, wouldn't it just give you more time to read?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/i-had-never-feared-insomnia-before-like-prison-wouldn-t-it-just-give/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [Usually she ordered a cup of coffee and a cup of tea, as well as a brownie, propping up her sadness with chocolate and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/usually-she-ordered-a-cup-of-coffee-and-a-cup-of-tea-as-well-as-a/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) [Explore all 340 Lorrie Moore quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) ## More Be kind quotes > [For some reason, we are truly convinced that if we criticize ourselves, the criticism will lead to change. 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Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-d-thompson/) Browse all 873 Be kind quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "But I believed in starting over. There was finally, I knew, only rupture and hurt and falling short between all persons, but, Shirley, the best revenge was to turn your life into a small gathering of miracles. 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