---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Water does not resist. Water flows. When…"
description: "\"Water does not resist. Water flows. When you plunge your hand into it, all you feel is a caress.\" — Margaret Atwood"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8e/margaret-atwood-40_caress_water-does-not-resist-water-flows-when-y_136878.jpg"
---

#  Water does not resist. Water flows. When you plunge your…

![“Water does not resist. Water flows. When you plunge your hand into it, all you feel is a caress.” quote by Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8e/margaret-atwood-40_caress_water-does-not-resist-water-flows-when-y_136878.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8e/margaret-atwood-40_caress_water-does-not-resist-water-flows-when-y_136878.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8e/margaret-atwood-40_caress_water-does-not-resist-water-flows-when-y_136878.jpg)

> “Water does not resist. Water flows. When you plunge your hand into it, all you feel is a caress.”

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

## About This Quote

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

Water adapts and moves around obstacles, offering gentle contact rather than resistance.

**In simple terms:** Water flows and caresses.

Key Takeaway

Embrace flexibility and softness.

Themes

adaptability resilience gentleness

Mood

calm reflective

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- conflict resolution
- creative problem solving
- personal growth
- stress management

Key Concepts

fluid dynamics mindfulness

Questions to Reflect On

- How can you respond with softness in a tough situation?
- When does firmness become necessary?

A Different Perspective

Flexibility may be mistaken for weakness.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Flow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flow/) [Flowing water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flowing-water/) [Patience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patience/) [Patience and waiting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patience-and-waiting/) [River](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/river/) [Water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/water/)

## Related quotes

> [Water does not resist. Water flows. When you plunge your hand into it, all you feel is a caress. Water is not a solid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/water-does-not-resist-water-flows-when-you-plunge-your-hand-into-it-2/)

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

> [Remember that, my child. Remember you are half water. If you can't go through an obstacle, go around it. Water does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/remember-that-my-child-remember-you-are-half-water-if-you-can-t-go/)

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

> [How you made Love happy and relieve of the terrible suspense that had showered over you? you can have the peace and see the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-llamas/how-you-made-love-happy-and-relieve-of-the-terrible-suspense-that-had/)

Mary Llamas

> [Sand can resist to water; but it cannot win. Ignorant can resist to knowledge; but it cannot win.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/sand-can-resist-to-water-but-it-cannot-win-ignorant-can-resist-to/)

[Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/)

> [Dripping water hollows out stone, not through force but through persistence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/dripping-water-hollows-out-stone-not-through-force-but-through/)

[Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/)

> [“Dripping water wears the stone which could not be hammered.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-c-grayling/dripping-water-wears-the-stone-which-could-not-be-hammered/)

[A.C. Grayling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-c-grayling/)

> [Dripping water hollows out a stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/dripping-water-hollows-out-a-stone/)

[Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/)

> [The anger came creeping back like the leak from a dripping water tank, the fall of each individual drop passing almost unnoticed until I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-loyd/the-anger-came-creeping-back-like-the-leak-from-a-dripping-water-tank/)

Anthony Loyd

> ["Gutta cavat lapidem." (Dripping water carves a stone.)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/gutta-cavat-lapidem-dripping-water-carves-a-stone/)

[Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/)

> [By constant dripping, water hollows stone, A signet-ring from use alone grows thin, And the curved plowshare by soft earth is worn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/by-constant-dripping-water-hollows-stone-a-signet-ring-from-use-alone/)

[Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/)

> [When you are in your worst moods. Wait. Be patient. The storm will pass. The spring will come](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-h-schuller/when-you-are-in-your-worst-moods-wait-be-patient-the-storm-will-pass/)

[Robert H. Schuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-h-schuller/)

> [Good things come to those who initiate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-roane/good-things-come-to-those-who-initiate/)

[Susan RoAne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-roane/)

> [The single biggest advantage a value investor has is not IQ. It's patience and waiting. Waiting for the right pitch, and waiting for many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohnish-pabrai/the-single-biggest-advantage-a-value-investor-has-is-not-iq-it-s/)

[Mohnish Pabrai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohnish-pabrai/)

> [“Everywhere in nature we are taught the lessons of patience and waiting. We want things a long time before we get them, and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-f-smith/everywhere-in-nature-we-are-taught-the-lessons-of-patience-and/)

[Joseph F. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-f-smith/)

> [Good things come to those who hustle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-noll/good-things-come-to-those-who-hustle/)

[Chuck Noll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-noll/)

## More by Margaret Atwood

> [“I'm fine," said Pilar, "for the moment. And the moment is the only time we can be fine in.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/i-m-fine-said-pilar-for-the-moment-and-the-moment-is-the-only-time-we/)

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

> [And yet it disturbs me to learn I have hurt someone unintentionally. I want all my hurts to be intentional.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/and-yet-it-disturbs-me-to-learn-i-have-hurt-someone-unintentionally-i/)

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

> [“Mary: Some call this "Eve's curse," but I think that is stupid because the real curse of Eve was having to put up with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/mary-some-call-this-eve-s-curse-but-i-think-that-is-stupid-because/)

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

> [“The birds were singing around me, but I reflected that the very birds were strangers to me, for I did not even know their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/the-birds-were-singing-around-me-but-i-reflected-that-the-very-birds/)

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

> [“Strange how we decorate pain. These ribbons, for instance, and the small hard teardrops of blood. Who are they for? Do we think the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/strange-how-we-decorate-pain-these-ribbons-for-instance-and-the-small/)

[margaret atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

> [I wanted to forget the past, but it refused to forget me; it waited for sleep, then cornered me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/i-wanted-to-forget-the-past-but-it-refused-to-forget-me-it-waited-for/)

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

> [“Back at home they drew the curtains and read, with disapproval, with relish, with avidity and glee - even the ones who'd never thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/back-at-home-they-drew-the-curtains-and-read-with-disapproval-with/)

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

> [“It's my fault. I am forgetting too much.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/it-s-my-fault-i-am-forgetting-too-much/)

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

> [All fiction is about people, unless it's about rabbits pretending to be people. It's all essentially characters in action, which means characters moving through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/all-fiction-is-about-people-unless-it-s-about-rabbits-pretending-to/)

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

> [“Simon walks back to the house alone. The night is clear and warm, with a moon, almost full, enclosed in a nimbus of mist;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/simon-walks-back-to-the-house-alone-the-night-is-clear-and-warm-with/)

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

> [“There is indeed something delightful about being able to combine obedience and disobedience in the same act.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/there-is-indeed-something-delightful-about-being-able-to-combine/)

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

> [“Every time the women appear, Snowman is astonished all over again. They're every known colour from the deepest black to whitest white, they're various…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/every-time-the-women-appear-snowman-is-astonished-all-over-again-they/)

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

> [Once you publish a book, it is out of your control. You cannot dictate how people read it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/once-you-publish-a-book-it-is-out-of-your-control-you-cannot-dictate/)

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

> [“The more difficult it was to love the particular man beside us, the more we believed in Love, abstract and total. We were waiting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/the-more-difficult-it-was-to-love-the-particular-man-beside-us-the/)

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

> [“She knows she's deceiving herself about that, but she prefers to deceive herself. She desperately needs to believe such pure joy is still possible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/she-knows-she-s-deceiving-herself-about-that-but-she-prefers-to/)

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

[Explore all 2,072 Margaret Atwood quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

## More Caress quotes

> [“I lay on her bed with my arms wrapped around her, wondering how on earth we'd managed to end up like this. I'm not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malorie-blackman/i-lay-on-her-bed-with-my-arms-wrapped-around-her-wondering-how-on/)

[Malorie Blackman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malorie-blackman/)

> [The dog is guided by kindly instinct to the man or woman whose heart is open to his advances. The cat often leaves the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-repplier/the-dog-is-guided-by-kindly-instinct-to-the-man-or-woman-whose-heart/)

[Agnes Repplier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-repplier/)

> [My love is like the wind and wild is the wind. Give me more than one caress, satisfy my hungriness. Let the wind blow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-simone/my-love-is-like-the-wind-and-wild-is-the-wind-give-me-more-than-one/)

[Nina Simone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-simone/)

> [“When bodies talk, a hand brushing across a face declares love the tongue never speaks. When bodies talk, eyes make promises and lips keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stella-payton/when-bodies-talk-a-hand-brushing-across-a-face-declares-love-the/)

[Stella Payton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stella-payton/)

> [For this is Wisdom; to love, to live To take what fate, or the Gods may give. To ask no question, to make no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-this-is-wisdom-to-love-to-live-to-take-what-fate-or-the-gods-may/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [This could be so much more. So much more than a casual kiss, and a quick caress beneath the sheets. This really could be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-could-be-so-much-more-so-much-more-than-a-casual-kiss-and-a/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“The caress of each word becoming one with the page. Twisting beneath the touch of the pen, forming a trail of permanent kisses, until…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-zuri-za-austin/the-caress-of-each-word-becoming-one-with-the-page-twisting-beneath/)

N'Zuri Za Austin

> [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/)

> [“Touch was funny like that. How one movement could choke you and kill you, but another meant nothing more than a caress and an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brigid-kemmerer/touch-was-funny-like-that-how-one-movement-could-choke-you-and-kill/)

[Brigid Kemmerer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brigid-kemmerer/)

> [“There are people in the world, who are just wrong, and then there are the masses of population that are right, or at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-stroube/there-are-people-in-the-world-who-are-just-wrong-and-then-there-are/)

[J.D. Stroube](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-stroube/)

> [May the bird of paradise fly up your nose, may an elephant caress you with his toes, may your wife be plagued with runners…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/little-jimmy-dickens/may-the-bird-of-paradise-fly-up-your-nose-may-an-elephant-caress-you/)

Little' Jimmy Dickens

> [“Patch's eyes grazed me with silent heat. My reflection swirled in them, red hair and lips aflame. I was connected to him by a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/becca-fitzpatrick/patch-s-eyes-grazed-me-with-silent-heat-my-reflection-swirled-in-them/)

[Becca Fitzpatrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/becca-fitzpatrick/)

> [“I believe in making my potential models comfortable,’ he explained when she shot a surprised look at him. ‘I’m considerate, unlike some artists who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-stovell/i-believe-in-making-my-potential-models-comfortable-he-explained-when/)

[Christine Stovell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-stovell/)

> [I don't hear your words: your voice reverberates against my body like another kind of caress, another kind of penetration. I have no power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/i-don-t-hear-your-words-your-voice-reverberates-against-my-body-like/)

[Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/)

> [Expect nothing, live frugally on surprise. Become a stranger to need of pity. Or if compassion be freely given out, take only enough. Stop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/expect-nothing-live-frugally-on-surprise-become-a-stranger-to-need-of/)

[Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/)

Browse all 252 Caress quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Water does not resist. Water flows. When you plunge your hand into it, all you feel is a caress.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Margaret Atwood"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/water-does-not-resist-water-flows-when-you-plunge-your-hand-into-it/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Caress"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/water-does-not-resist-water-flows-when-you-plunge-your-hand-into-it/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8e/margaret-atwood-40_caress_water-does-not-resist-water-flows-when-y_136878.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8e/margaret-atwood-40_caress_water-does-not-resist-water-flows-when-y_136878.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8e/margaret-atwood-40_caress_water-does-not-resist-water-flows-when-y_136878.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Water does not resist. Water flows. When you plunge your hand into it, all you feel is a caress.” — Margaret Atwood",
                "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": "Margaret Atwood",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Water does not resist. Water flows....",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/water-does-not-resist-water-flows-when-you-plunge-your-hand-into-it/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/water-does-not-resist-water-flows-when-you-plunge-your-hand-into-it/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
