--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: All my life I have been restless-- I have…" description: "\"All my life I have been restless-- I have felt there is something more wonderful than gloss-- than wholeness-- than staying at home.\" — Mary Oliver" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/adb/mary-oliver-570_ambition_all-my-life-i-have-been-restless-i-have_2485512.jpg" --- # All my life I have been restless-- I have felt there is… ![“All my life I have been restless-- I have felt there is something more wonderful than gloss-- than wholeness-- than staying at home.” quote by Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/adb/mary-oliver-570_ambition_all-my-life-i-have-been-restless-i-have_2485512.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/adb/mary-oliver-570_ambition_all-my-life-i-have-been-restless-i-have_2485512.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/adb/mary-oliver-570_ambition_all-my-life-i-have-been-restless-i-have_2485512.jpg) > “All my life I have been restless-- I have felt there is something more wonderful than gloss-- than wholeness-- than staying at home.” [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A yearning for something beyond ordinary comfort, seeking deeper wonder and wholeness beyond domestic life. **In simple terms:** Craving deeper wonder beyond home. Key Takeaway Pursue experiences that expand your sense of awe. Themes longing exploration spirituality Mood reflective hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - travel - creative projects - mindful retreats Key Concepts existential yearning transcendence Questions to Reflect On - What does "more wonderful" look like for you? - How can you balance yearning with daily life? A Different Perspective Restlessness may lead to neglect of present responsibilities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ambition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambition/) [Home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Restless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/restless/) [Staying Home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/staying-home/) [Wholeness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wholeness/) [Wonderful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wonderful/) ## Related quotes > [When I did 'Restless,' I felt that was a stepping stone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/xzibit/when-i-did-restless-i-felt-that-was-a-stepping-stone/) [Xzibit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/xzibit/) > [The more I get used to my life, the more restless I become.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-sheehan/the-more-i-get-used-to-my-life-the-more-restless-i-become/) [Robert Sheehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-sheehan/) > [“She changed her position, contemplated a row od apple shrubs that she had put in last autumn at the bottom of the terrace, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enid-bagnold/she-changed-her-position-contemplated-a-row-od-apple-shrubs-that-she/) [Enid Bagnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enid-bagnold/) > [Wherever I am, whatever I do, my only purpose in life is to see you a restless desire like the need to see the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariana-fulger/wherever-i-am-whatever-i-do-my-only-purpose-in-life-is-to-see-you-a/) [Mariana Fulger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariana-fulger/) > [“God knows I had not wanted to fall in love with her. I had not wanted to fall in love with any one. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/god-knows-i-had-not-wanted-to-fall-in-love-with-her-i-had-not-wanted/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“The book felt wonderful in my hands. I held it up to my nose and drank in its aroma. I think I'm addicted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/syrie-james/the-book-felt-wonderful-in-my-hands-i-held-it-up-to-my-nose-and-drank/) [Syrie James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/syrie-james/) > [“Well, it felt wonderful everywhere that wasn’t my arms, my hand, my shoulders, or my sides.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/well-it-felt-wonderful-everywhere-that-wasn-t-my-arms-my-hand-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“It felt so wonderful that she concluded that the existence of her clitoris was proof positive that God loved her.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dossie-easton/it-felt-so-wonderful-that-she-concluded-that-the-existence-of-her/) [Dossie Easton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dossie-easton/) > [“Taylor crashed back through the woods with Lincoln and Marcus in tow. Her head was throbbing and she was having trouble seeing out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-t-ellison/taylor-crashed-back-through-the-woods-with-lincoln-and-marcus-in-tow/) [J.T. Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-t-ellison/) > [Being confined to a wheelchair doesn't bother me as my mind is free to roam the universe, but it felt wonderful to be weightless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/being-confined-to-a-wheelchair-doesn-t-bother-me-as-my-mind-is-free/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [I loved working with Jamie Lee Curtis, and I felt she was a wonderful actress even that early in her career.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-pleasence/i-loved-working-with-jamie-lee-curtis-and-i-felt-she-was-a-wonderful/) [Donald Pleasence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-pleasence/) > [“She felt a wonderful lightness of spirit, a soul-stirring joy in mere existence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/she-felt-a-wonderful-lightness-of-spirit-a-soul-stirring-joy-in-mere/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [I felt I had to give back to our wonderful country which has been so good to me and to my family.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-felt-i-had-to-give-back-to-our-wonderful-country-which-has-been-so/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [“In spite of everything, he still felt wonderful, like I was embracing a mountain. But I now knew that as solid as he seemed,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brent-hartinger/in-spite-of-everything-he-still-felt-wonderful-like-i-was-embracing-a/) [Brent Hartinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brent-hartinger/) > [“real difficulty comes when we are doing something that we don’t want to be doing. For example, if we must work when we want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rahima-baldwin-dancy/real-difficulty-comes-when-we-are-doing-something-that-we-don-t-want/) Rahima Baldwin Dancy ## More by Mary Oliver > [Belief isn't always easy. But this much I have learned--- if not enough else--- to live with my eyes open.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/belief-isn-t-always-easy-but-this-much-i-have-learned-if-not-enough/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [In this universe we are given two gifts: the ability to love and the ability to question. Which are, at the same time, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/in-this-universe-we-are-given-two-gifts-the-ability-to-love-and-the/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [Poetry is one of the original arts, and it began, as did all the fine arts, within the original wilderness of the earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/poetry-is-one-of-the-original-arts-and-it-began-as-did-all-the-fine/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [The dream of my life is to lie down by a slow river and stare at the light in the trees - to learn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/the-dream-of-my-life-is-to-lie-down-by-a-slow-river-and-stare-at-the/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/tell-me-what-is-it-you-plan-to-do-with-your-one-wild-and-precious-life/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [“All important ideas must include the trees, the mountains, and the rivers. • To understand many things you must reach out of your own condition.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/all-important-ideas-must-include-the-trees-the-mountains-and-the/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [“Sometimes I think, were I just a little rougher made, I would go altogether to the woods—to my work entirely, and solitude, a few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/sometimes-i-think-were-i-just-a-little-rougher-made-i-would-go/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [“First Snow The snow began here this morning and all day continued, its white rhetoric everywhere calling us back to why, how, whence such beauty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/first-snow-the-snow-began-here-this-morning-and-all-day-continued-its/) [mary oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [“What can I say that I have not said before? So I’ll say it again. The leaf has a song in it. Stone is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/what-can-i-say-that-i-have-not-said-before-so-i-ll-say-it-again-the/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [The sea is the most beautiful face in our universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/the-sea-is-the-most-beautiful-face-in-our-universe/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [There is nothing better than work. Work is also play; children know that. Children play earnestly as if it were work. But people grow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/there-is-nothing-better-than-work-work-is-also-play-children-know/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [“What will you do with your one precious, wild life?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/what-will-you-do-with-your-one-precious-wild-life/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [“Poetry is a life-cherishing force. For poems are not words, after all, but fires for the cold, ropes let down to the lost, something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/poetry-is-a-life-cherishing-force-for-poems-are-not-words-after-all/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [“I stood like Adam in his lonely garden On that first morning, shaken out of sleep, Rubbing his eyes, listening, parting the leaves, Like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/i-stood-like-adam-in-his-lonely-garden-on-that-first-morning-shaken/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [We all have a hungry heart, and one of the things we hunger for is happiness. So as much as I possibly could, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/we-all-have-a-hungry-heart-and-one-of-the-things-we-hunger-for-is/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) [Explore all 470 Mary Oliver quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) ## More Ambition quotes > [Ambition drives you on, ability certainly helps, but the fickle finger of fate and luck are great things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fergus-henderson/ambition-drives-you-on-ability-certainly-helps-but-the-fickle-finger/) [Fergus Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fergus-henderson/) > [One needs more than ambition and talent to make a success of anything, really. There must be love and a vocation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessye-norman/one-needs-more-than-ambition-and-talent-to-make-a-success-of-anything/) [Jessye Norman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessye-norman/) > [I just think my own ambition would not allow me to sit on the gifts that my creator had given me. And so that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-monae/i-just-think-my-own-ambition-would-not-allow-me-to-sit-on-the-gifts/) [Janelle Monae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-monae/) > [A man's worth is no greater than the worth of his ambitions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-man-s-worth-is-no-greater-than-the-worth-of-his-ambitions/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm hungry and ambitious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julen-lopetegui/i-m-hungry-and-ambitious/) [Julen Lopetegui](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julen-lopetegui/) > [“I was ambitious and desperate to direct my first film, so I capitulated and blew it. Never again. Never fucking again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-ferguson/i-was-ambitious-and-desperate-to-direct-my-first-film-so-i/) [Craig Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-ferguson/) > [I was always attracted most to joining City, and I am pleased to be at such a good club with such a big ambition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edin-dzeko/i-was-always-attracted-most-to-joining-city-and-i-am-pleased-to-be-at/) [Edin Dzeko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edin-dzeko/) > [Work towards your goal and dont watch the post size,its either they hate,or like you.there is no room for both sides.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-buabeng/work-towards-your-goal-and-dont-watch-the-post-size-its-either-they/) [Isaac Buabeng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-buabeng/) > [“But young men have not only this frivolous ambition of being thought masters of execution, inciting them on the one hand, but also their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-young-men-have-not-only-this-frivolous-ambition-of-being-thought/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I almost never have a plan for myself... I'm not ambitious in that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-plimpton/i-almost-never-have-a-plan-for-myself-i-m-not-ambitious-in-that-way/) [Martha Plimpton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-plimpton/) > [I play for high stakes and given an audience - there is no act too daring or too noble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/i-play-for-high-stakes-and-given-an-audience-there-is-no-act-too/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [There's nothing worse than a leader who lacks ambition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-s-nothing-worse-than-a-leader-who-lacks-ambition/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If i can't even protect my captain's dream, then whatever ambition i have is nothing but talk..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoro/if-i-can-t-even-protect-my-captain-s-dream-then-whatever-ambition-i/) [Zoro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoro/) > [It may seem unattainable but if you put actions, your heart and your mind into it, you will prevail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/london-mond/it-may-seem-unattainable-but-if-you-put-actions-your-heart-and-your/) [London Mond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/london-mond/) > [Obligation is what's leading us to toward successful, and what keeps us moving towards the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wazim-shaw/obligation-is-what-s-leading-us-to-toward-successful-and-what-keeps/) [Wazim Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wazim-shaw/) [Browse all 4,601 Ambition quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambition/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "All my life I have been restless-- I have felt there is something more wonderful than gloss-- than wholeness-- than staying at home.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mary Oliver" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/all-my-life-i-have-been-restless-i-have-felt-there-is-something-more/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ambition" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/all-my-life-i-have-been-restless-i-have-felt-there-is-something-more/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/adb/mary-oliver-570_ambition_all-my-life-i-have-been-restless-i-have_2485512.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/adb/mary-oliver-570_ambition_all-my-life-i-have-been-restless-i-have_2485512.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/adb/mary-oliver-570_ambition_all-my-life-i-have-been-restless-i-have_2485512.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“All my life I have been restless-- I have felt there is something more wonderful than gloss-- than…” — Mary Oliver", "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": "Mary Oliver", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "All my life I have been...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/all-my-life-i-have-been-restless-i-have-felt-there-is-something-more/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/all-my-life-i-have-been-restless-i-have-felt-there-is-something-more/#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 } } ] } ```