--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When will you have a little pity for…" description: "\"When will you have a little pity for every soft thing that walks through the world, yourself included.\" — Mary Oliver" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8cf/mary-oliver-570_littles_when-will-you-have-a-little-pity-for-eve_2058512.jpg" --- # When will you have a little pity for every soft thing that… ![“When will you have a little pity for every soft thing that walks through the world, yourself included.” quote by Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8cf/mary-oliver-570_littles_when-will-you-have-a-little-pity-for-eve_2058512.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8cf/mary-oliver-570_littles_when-will-you-have-a-little-pity-for-eve_2058512.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8cf/mary-oliver-570_littles_when-will-you-have-a-little-pity-for-eve_2058512.jpg) > “When will you have a little pity for every soft thing that walks through the world, yourself included.” [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. Cultivate compassion for all living beings, including yourself, recognizing shared vulnerability. **In simple terms:** Show kindness to every creature, yourself included. Key Takeaway Practice empathy toward all life. Themes compassion vulnerability interconnectedness Mood reflective gentle Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - animal welfare - personal growth - mental health - conflict resolution Key Concepts ethical living environmental awareness Questions to Reflect On - How can you extend pity to yourself? - What small acts of kindness can you offer others? A Different Perspective Self‑compassion can be difficult when facing personal flaws. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Little Pity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/little-pity-722804/) [Littles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/littles/) [Pity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pity/) [Pity Soft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pity-soft-3914653/) [Soft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soft/) [Soft Thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soft-thing-1827308/) [Walks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/walks/) [Walks World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/walks-world-2597242/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [Do I have my days when I've thrown a little pity party for myself? Absolutely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-aniston/do-i-have-my-days-when-i-ve-thrown-a-little-pity-party-for-myself/) [Jennifer Aniston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-aniston/) > [“Aunt Flo's love is not a soft thing, I think, but something hard and unyielding, which can be good or bad.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-strnad/aunt-flo-s-love-is-not-a-soft-thing-i-think-but-something-hard-and/) [Jan Strnad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-strnad/) > [“Soft things can take a beating. But you push somethin’ hard a little bit and it shatters. You gotta be a soft thing in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brit-bennett/soft-things-can-take-a-beating-but-you-push-somethin-hard-a-little/) [Brit Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brit-bennett/) > [“The indignities of stupidity, and the disappointments of selfish passion, can excite little pity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/the-indignities-of-stupidity-and-the-disappointments-of-selfish/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [Every one of us wakes up in the morning, walks out into the world, and does the best we can do based on what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-s-sharma/every-one-of-us-wakes-up-in-the-morning-walks-out-into-the-world-and/) [Robin S. Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-s-sharma/) > [A real friend is one that walks in when the whole world walks out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-davies/a-real-friend-is-one-that-walks-in-when-the-whole-world-walks-out/) [Grace Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-davies/) > [How one walks through the world, the endless small adjustments of balance, is affected by the shifting weights of beautiful things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-scarry/how-one-walks-through-the-world-the-endless-small-adjustments-of/) [Elaine Scarry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-scarry/) > [A true friend is the one who walks in when the whole world walks out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-true-friend-is-the-one-who-walks-in-when-the-whole-world-walks-out/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Either I'm too sensitive, or else I'm gettin' soft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/either-i-m-too-sensitive-or-else-i-m-gettin-soft/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [My hands were too soft.. I had to find some special occupation, some kind of work that would not force me to turn away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-chagall/my-hands-were-too-soft-i-had-to-find-some-special-occupation-some/) [Marc Chagall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-chagall/) > [If we dismiss childcare or work-life balance as soft, or Labour issues, then we dismiss the main concerns of millions of people, especially women.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damian-green/if-we-dismiss-childcare-or-work-life-balance-as-soft-or-labour-issues/) [Damian Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damian-green/) > [My job is to catch the ball no matter how they throw it - hard, soft, medium. You've got to be able to catch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-brown/my-job-is-to-catch-the-ball-no-matter-how-they-throw-it-hard-soft/) [Antonio Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-brown/) > [I went through a period when I was perceived as being a soft touch, somebody who moves over, who is not hungry enough to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-coulthard/i-went-through-a-period-when-i-was-perceived-as-being-a-soft-touch/) [David Coulthard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-coulthard/) > [My problems are sort of more on a nuisance level. I can't stand scratchy clothes, I've got to have soft kinds of cotton against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/temple-grandin/my-problems-are-sort-of-more-on-a-nuisance-level-i-can-t-stand/) [Temple Grandin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/temple-grandin/) > [My first three manuscripts were epic fantasy - like high fantasy - and then the fourth one was a historical fantasy about Mozart as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-lu/my-first-three-manuscripts-were-epic-fantasy-like-high-fantasy-and/) [Marie Lu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-lu/) ## 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 Littles quotes > [You gotta have a little kid in you to play football.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-edwards/you-gotta-have-a-little-kid-in-you-to-play-football/) [Herman Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-edwards/) > [I don't understand why we're all connected wirelessly via a little machine that goes in our pocket, to everybody in the world, and you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-m-chu/i-don-t-understand-why-we-re-all-connected-wirelessly-via-a-little/) [Jon M. Chu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-m-chu/) > [ Brad \[Dourif\] would tell himself that he was not intentionally trying to mimic Jack Nicholson in any way. I think that actually bothers him… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-kirschner/brad-dourif-would-tell-himself-that-he-was-not-intentionally-trying/) [David Kirschner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-kirschner/) > [You smile upon your friend to-day, To-day his ills are over; You hearken to the lover's say, And happy is the lover. 'Tis late…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-smile-upon-your-friend-to-day-to-day-his-ills-are-over-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [As a child, I had a lot of older gay men taking care of me. There's a trust there. I feel like little girls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cho/as-a-child-i-had-a-lot-of-older-gay-men-taking-care-of-me-there-s-a/) [Margaret Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cho/) > [I remember that the bass was turned up slightly more on the mix from last week, and I thought that was good - or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-ronson/i-remember-that-the-bass-was-turned-up-slightly-more-on-the-mix-from/) [Mark Ronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-ronson/) > [I always step on the plane with my right foot and touch the outside of the plane with my left hand. Sometimes you know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-davis/i-always-step-on-the-plane-with-my-right-foot-and-touch-the-outside/) [Hope Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hope-davis/) > [I was very lucky to get well known much later in life. You need to have flopped quite a few times to get a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-clooney/i-was-very-lucky-to-get-well-known-much-later-in-life-you-need-to/) [George Clooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-clooney/) > [ The social \[media channel\] isn't about beauty contests and popularity contests. They're a distortion, a caricature of the real thing. It's about trust, connection,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umair-haque/the-social-media-channel-isn-t-about-beauty-contests-and-popularity/) [Umair Haque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umair-haque/) > [It's only a little difficult to say no. You've got to believe that the work you're doing is ultimately more useful to the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-sivers/it-s-only-a-little-difficult-to-say-no-you-ve-got-to-believe-that-the/) [Derek Sivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-sivers/) > [We're raising children who have little tolerance for disappointment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/we-re-raising-children-who-have-little-tolerance-for-disappointment/) [Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/) > [Must I go bound while you go free Must I love a manwho doesn't love me Must I be born with so little art…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/must-i-go-bound-while-you-go-free-must-i-love-a-manwho-doesn-t-love/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [The happy medium is television. And if you find a good suitor, you can do it for years. With movies, you roll the dice.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-campbell/the-happy-medium-is-television-and-if-you-find-a-good-suitor-you-can/) [Bruce Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-campbell/) > [If I had my brothers I think with just a little bit of the correct marketing, I'd like to be almost exclusively in small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-bozzio/if-i-had-my-brothers-i-think-with-just-a-little-bit-of-the-correct/) [Terry Bozzio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-bozzio/) > [All lyrical work must, as a whole, be perfectly intelligible, but in some particulars a little unintelligible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/all-lyrical-work-must-as-a-whole-be-perfectly-intelligible-but-in/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) [Browse all 27,615 Littles quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/littles/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When will you have a little pity for every soft thing that walks through the world, yourself included.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mary Oliver" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/when-will-you-have-a-little-pity-for-every-soft-thing-that-walks/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Littles" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/when-will-you-have-a-little-pity-for-every-soft-thing-that-walks/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8cf/mary-oliver-570_littles_when-will-you-have-a-little-pity-for-eve_2058512.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8cf/mary-oliver-570_littles_when-will-you-have-a-little-pity-for-eve_2058512.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8cf/mary-oliver-570_littles_when-will-you-have-a-little-pity-for-eve_2058512.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When will you have a little pity for every soft thing that walks through the world, yourself included.” — 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": "When will you have a little...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/when-will-you-have-a-little-pity-for-every-soft-thing-that-walks/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/when-will-you-have-a-little-pity-for-every-soft-thing-that-walks/#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 } } ] } ```