--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Love yourself. Then forget it. Then, love…" description: "\"Love yourself. Then forget it. Then, love the world.\" — Mary Oliver" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59a/mary-oliver-570_forget_love-yourself-then-forget-it-then-love-t_1732961.jpg" --- # Love yourself. Then forget it. Then, love the world. ![“Love yourself. Then forget it. Then, love the world.” quote by Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59a/mary-oliver-570_forget_love-yourself-then-forget-it-then-love-t_1732961.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59a/mary-oliver-570_forget_love-yourself-then-forget-it-then-love-t_1732961.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59a/mary-oliver-570_forget_love-yourself-then-forget-it-then-love-t_1732961.jpg) > “Love yourself. Then forget it. Then, love the world.” [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. Self‑love precedes love for others; then love expands outward. **In simple terms:** Love yourself, then the world. Key Takeaway Start with self‑acceptance. Themes self‑care compassion universal love Mood gentle hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal therapy - volunteering - community building Key Concepts inner peace empathy connection Questions to Reflect On - What does self‑compassion look like for you? - How can you extend that love outward? A Different Perspective Self‑love can become ego if not balanced. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Love yourself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-yourself/) [Special education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/special-education/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [Its not too late to learn how to love and forget how to hate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/its-not-too-late-to-learn-how-to-love-and-forget-how-to-hate/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We were so much in love. How could you forget? Wish you were here with me, but Memories are all I have left.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-were-so-much-in-love-how-could-you-forget-wish-you-were-here-with/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I want not to love him, not even I forget. Love is worship real, but only if we met?? They say body is soil,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senoraroy/i-want-not-to-love-him-not-even-i-forget-love-is-worship-real-but/) Senoraroy > [“I remember reading somewhere that you have to learn to love yourself before you can love someone else. But I don't think it's true.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-winfield/i-remember-reading-somewhere-that-you-have-to-learn-to-love-yourself/) [Ryan Winfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-winfield/) > [Some people love and forget Some forget and love While some don't love at all But still remember whom they loved](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-abraham/some-people-love-and-forget-some-forget-and-love-while-some-don-t/) [Amit Abraham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-abraham/) > [Dearest darling, how I love you. Words cannot tell how much I love you. So forget it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-m-schulz/dearest-darling-how-i-love-you-words-cannot-tell-how-much-i-love-you/) [Charles M. Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-m-schulz/) > [A first killing is like your first love. You never forget it,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pichushkin/a-first-killing-is-like-your-first-love-you-never-forget-it/) Alexander Pichushkin > [It's not a competition, it's a doorway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/it-s-not-a-competition-it-s-a-doorway/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [Still, what I want in my life is to be willing to be dazzled---to cast aside the weight of facts and maybe even to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/still-what-i-want-in-my-life-is-to-be-willing-to-be-dazzled-to-cast/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [Sometimes I need only to stand wherever I am to be blessed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/sometimes-i-need-only-to-stand-wherever-i-am-to-be-blessed/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [Ten times a day something happens to me like this - some strengthening throb of amazement - some good sweet empathic ping and swell.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/ten-times-a-day-something-happens-to-me-like-this-some-strengthening/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [It is better for the heart to break, than not to break.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/it-is-better-for-the-heart-to-break-than-not-to-break/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [There is only one question: / how to love this world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/there-is-only-one-question-how-to-love-this-world/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [Look, I want to love this world as though it's the last chance I'm ever going to get to be alive and know it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/look-i-want-to-love-this-world-as-though-it-s-the-last-chance-i-m/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [“Love yourself first and everything else falls into line,” Lucille Ball advised. “You really have to love yourself to get anything done in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-ban-breathnach/love-yourself-first-and-everything-else-falls-into-line-lucille-ball/) [Sarah Ban Breathnach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-ban-breathnach/) ## 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 Forget quotes > [I Never met her,i never talked to her,but in my whole day I am either thinking about her or trying to forget her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/subhananda/i-never-met-her-i-never-talked-to-her-but-in-my-whole-day-i-am-either/) [Subhananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/subhananda/) > [What people tend to forget is the journey that I had getting to Formula One. There were plenty of years where I had to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-hamilton/what-people-tend-to-forget-is-the-journey-that-i-had-getting-to/) [Lewis Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-hamilton/) > [Once upon a time. Ah forget it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/once-upon-a-time-ah-forget-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Forget the credit, they (male actors) take all the money as well. We don't get paid even one-third of what male actors get. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kangana-ranaut/forget-the-credit-they-male-actors-take-all-the-money-as-well-we-don/) [Kangana Ranaut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kangana-ranaut/) > [It goes to show you how we in the press so often miss the big stories that are right under our noses. There is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ebert/it-goes-to-show-you-how-we-in-the-press-so-often-miss-the-big-stories/) [Roger Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ebert/) > [Your memory is a monster; you forget - it doesn't. It simply files things away. It keeps things for you, or hides things from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/your-memory-is-a-monster-you-forget-it-doesn-t-it-simply-files-things/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [“Which people take the time to care for their souls, these days? I reckon not many. But...hear this: I think that maybe in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-fletcher/which-people-take-the-time-to-care-for-their-souls-these-days-i/) [Susan Fletcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-fletcher/) > [The problem with people is they forget that most of the time it's the small things that count.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-niven/the-problem-with-people-is-they-forget-that-most-of-the-time-it-s-the/) [Jennifer Niven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-niven/) > [Remind a man of what he remembers, and you will make him forget it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/remind-a-man-of-what-he-remembers-and-you-will-make-him-forget-it/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [“So you try, and try, to move past it and forget about them, but it's like they're stuck in your head -- you can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abby-mcdonald/so-you-try-and-try-to-move-past-it-and-forget-about-them-but-it-s/) [Abby McDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abby-mcdonald/) > [People forget that there is a big difference between coercion and persuasion. The idea that evangelism is coercive is nonsense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/people-forget-that-there-is-a-big-difference-between-coercion-and/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [People are disturbed not by things but by the view they take of them. They may forget what you said, but they will never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/people-are-disturbed-not-by-things-but-by-the-view-they-take-of-them/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [I don't think people will ever forget I was an 'Angel,' anymore than they'll forget Sally Field was 'The Flying Nun.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-ladd/i-don-t-think-people-will-ever-forget-i-was-an-angel-anymore-than/) [Cheryl Ladd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-ladd/) > [If God knows me I will never forget him](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trunxbeats/if-god-knows-me-i-will-never-forget-him/) Trunxbeats > [Our memory is a monster; you forget it - it does not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/our-memory-is-a-monster-you-forget-it-it-does-not/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) Browse all 11,315 Forget quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Love yourself. Then forget it. Then, love the world.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mary Oliver" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/love-yourself-then-forget-it-then-love-the-world/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Forget" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/love-yourself-then-forget-it-then-love-the-world/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59a/mary-oliver-570_forget_love-yourself-then-forget-it-then-love-t_1732961.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59a/mary-oliver-570_forget_love-yourself-then-forget-it-then-love-t_1732961.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59a/mary-oliver-570_forget_love-yourself-then-forget-it-then-love-t_1732961.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Love yourself. Then forget it. Then, love the world.” — 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": "Love yourself. Then forget it. Then,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/love-yourself-then-forget-it-then-love-the-world/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/love-yourself-then-forget-it-then-love-the-world/#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 } } ] } ```