--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I mean, by such flightiness, something…" description: "\"“I mean, by such flightiness, something that feels unsatisfied at the center of my life — that makes me shaky, fickle, inquisitive, and hungry. I could..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb1/mary-oliver-570_doubt_i-mean-by-such-flightiness-something-tha_1277406.jpg" --- # I mean, by such flightiness, something that feels… ![“I mean, by such flightiness, something that feels unsatisfied at the center of my life — that makes me shaky, fickle, inquisitive, and hungry. I could call it a longing for home and not be far wrong. Or I could call it a longing for whatever supersedes, if it cannot pass through, understanding…” quote by Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb1/mary-oliver-570_doubt_i-mean-by-such-flightiness-something-tha_1277406.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb1/mary-oliver-570_doubt_i-mean-by-such-flightiness-something-tha_1277406.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb1/mary-oliver-570_doubt_i-mean-by-such-flightiness-something-tha_1277406.jpg) > ““I mean, by such flightiness, something that feels unsatisfied at the center of my life — that makes me shaky, fickle, inquisitive, and hungry. I could call it a longing for home and not be far wrong. Or I could call it a longing for whatever supersedes, if it cannot pass through, understanding. Other words that come to mind: faith, grace, rest. In my outward appearance and life habits I hardly change — there’s never been a day that my friends haven’t been able to say, and at a distance, “There’s Oliver, still standing around in the weeds. There she is, still scribbling in her notebook.” But, at the center: I am shaking; I am flashing like tinsel. Restless. I read about ideas. Yet I let them remain ideas. I read about the poet who threw his books away, the better to come to a spiritual completion. Yet I keep my books. I flutter; I am attentive, maybe I even rise a little, balancing; then I fall back.”” [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 deep inner restlessness drives a yearning for belonging, meaning, and spiritual peace, despite outward steadiness. **In simple terms:** Inner longing for home and deeper understanding. Key Takeaway Seek inner peace and purpose. Themes longing restlessness spirituality identity growth Mood reflective melancholic hopeful Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - creative work - personal reflection - spiritual practice - journaling - reading poetry Key Concepts existential yearning search for meaning faith grace rest Questions to Reflect On - What does “home” mean to you? - How can you turn ideas into action? A Different Perspective The feeling may be fleeting and hard to articulate, leading to frustration. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Doubt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doubt/) [Flightiness Feels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flightiness-feels-4115439/) [Home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home/) [Hungry Longing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hungry-longing-3725038/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Longing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/longing/) [Longing for home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/longing-for-home/) [Longing Home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/longing-home-882926/) [Longing Supersedes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/longing-supersedes-4115440/) [Nostalgia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nostalgia/) [Outward appearance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/outward-appearance/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) ## Related quotes > [And so much of my life has been about returning home and longing for home, wanting my children to know about my roots. 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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. 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Once one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/where-there-is-doubt-shanka-there-is-misery-the-moment-one-begins-to/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [We know accurately only when we know little, with knowledge doubt increases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/we-know-accurately-only-when-we-know-little-with-knowledge-doubt/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [There is no doubt in my mind and I know in my time, there will be a Canadian basketball player playing for Toronto Raptors, 100%](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masai-ujiri/there-is-no-doubt-in-my-mind-and-i-know-in-my-time-there-will-be-a/) [Masai Ujiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masai-ujiri/) > [How could you feel worthless when God has honoured you by creating you and choosing you to be with Him, in this life and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmin-mogahed/how-could-you-feel-worthless-when-god-has-honoured-you-by-creating/) [Yasmin Mogahed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmin-mogahed/) > [“Let no one hope to find in contemplation an escape from conflict, from anguish or from doubt. 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