--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you stop to be kind, you must swerve…" description: "\"If you stop to be kind, you must swerve often from your path.\" — Mary Webb" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb4/mary-webb-17175_be-kind_if-you-stop-to-be-kind-you-must-swerve-o_1622034.png" --- # If you stop to be kind, you must swerve often from your… ![“If you stop to be kind, you must swerve often from your path.” quote by Mary Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb4/mary-webb-17175_be-kind_if-you-stop-to-be-kind-you-must-swerve-o_1622034.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb4/mary-webb-17175_be-kind_if-you-stop-to-be-kind-you-must-swerve-o_1622034.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb4/mary-webb-17175_be-kind_if-you-stop-to-be-kind-you-must-swerve-o_1622034.png) > “If you stop to be kind, you must swerve often from your path.” [Mary Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-webb/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Kindness requires frequent detours, altering personal goals to help others. **In simple terms:** Being kind often changes your plans. Key Takeaway Embrace compassionate flexibility. Themes kindness selflessness navigation Mood thoughtful balanced Type reflective inspirational When to use this quote - volunteering - daily interactions - conflict resolution Key Concepts ethical trade‑offs personal sacrifice Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance self‑care with helping others? - Are you willing to adjust your ambitions? A Different Perspective Constant diversion can hinder personal progress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Be kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/be-kind/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Kind Swerve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind-swerve-285795/) [Kindness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kindness/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Path](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/path/) [Stop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stop/) [Stop Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stop-kind-285796/) [Swerve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/swerve/) [Swerve Path](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/swerve-path-285797/) ## Related quotes > [Swerve me? The path to my fixed purpose is laid with iron rails, whereon my soul is grooved to run. Over unsounded gorges, through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/swerve-me-the-path-to-my-fixed-purpose-is-laid-with-iron-rails/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [I am about to stop being a get-along kind of guy and turn into somebody who makes a difference.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-howe/i-am-about-to-stop-being-a-get-along-kind-of-guy-and-turn-into/) [James Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-howe/) > [I guess I'm not saying that I think music should be free, but I do think that if people can get it for free,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-parker/i-guess-i-m-not-saying-that-i-think-music-should-be-free-but-i-do/) [Kevin Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-parker/) > [Do your duty, and don't swerve from it. Do that which your conscience tells you to be right, and leave the consequences to God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-haydon/do-your-duty-and-don-t-swerve-from-it-do-that-which-your-conscience/) [Benjamin Haydon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-haydon/) > [Historians ought to be precise, faithful, and unprejudiced; and neither interest nor fear, hatred nor affection, should make them swerve from the way of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/historians-ought-to-be-precise-faithful-and-unprejudiced-and-neither/) [Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/) > [Struggle hard and then if you do not succeed, you are not to blame. Let the world praise or blame you. Let all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/struggle-hard-and-then-if-you-do-not-succeed-you-are-not-to-blame-let/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [Look in, and see Christ's chosen saint In triumph wear his Christ-like chain; No fear lest he should swerve or faint; "His life is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keble/look-in-and-see-christ-s-chosen-saint-in-triumph-wear-his-christ-like/) [John Keble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keble/) > [The obsession with suicide is characteristic of the man who can neither live nor die, and whose attention never swerves from this double impossibility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/the-obsession-with-suicide-is-characteristic-of-the-man-who-can/) [Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/) > [The Bible has come under fire for making woman the fall guy in man's cosmic drama. But in casting a male conspirator, the serpent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/the-bible-has-come-under-fire-for-making-woman-the-fall-guy-in-man-s/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [For historians ought to be precise, truthful, and quite unprejudiced, and neither interest nor fear, hatred nor affection, should cause them to swerve from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/for-historians-ought-to-be-precise-truthful-and-quite-unprejudiced/) [Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/) > [Art always penetrates the particular fissures in one's psychic life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-greenblatt/art-always-penetrates-the-particular-fissures-in-one-s-psychic-life/) [Stephen Greenblatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-greenblatt/) > [Sound... if you look at bats you know that navigate with sonar, they're like you know they're very precise. They can even see a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dj-spooky/sound-if-you-look-at-bats-you-know-that-navigate-with-sonar-they-re/) [DJ Spooky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dj-spooky/) > [Its subtlest, most appealing accomplishment may be in how other characters respond to Gregorius' precipitous swerve onto the spiritual path. (...) That said, Night…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-huneven/its-subtlest-most-appealing-accomplishment-may-be-in-how-other/) [Michelle Huneven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-huneven/) > [A way a lone a last a loved a long the riverrun, past Eve and Adam's, from swerve of shore to bend of bay,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/a-way-a-lone-a-last-a-loved-a-long-the-riverrun-past-eve-and-adam-s/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [Senseless is the breast and cold Which relenting love would fold; Bloodless are the veins and chill Which the pulse of pain did fill;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/senseless-is-the-breast-and-cold-which-relenting-love-would-fold/) [Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/) ## More by Mary Webb > [There is usually no dreamer so unworldly as the anthologist. He wanders in a vast garden, lost in wonder, unable to decide often between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-webb/there-is-usually-no-dreamer-so-unworldly-as-the-anthologist-he/) [Mary Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-webb/) > [There is surely no more unselfish person than the anthologist. For while all we others are striving to ensure our own immortality with eagerness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-webb/there-is-surely-no-more-unselfish-person-than-the-anthologist-for/) [Mary Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-webb/) > [But when you dwell in a house you mislike, you will look out of a window a deal more than those that are content…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-webb/but-when-you-dwell-in-a-house-you-mislike-you-will-look-out-of-a/) [Mary Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-webb/) > [Saddle your dreams before you ride em.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-webb/saddle-your-dreams-before-you-ride-em/) [Mary Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-webb/) > [For the world is founded and built up on death, and the reality of death is neither to be questioned nor feared. 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In blue the spirit can wander, but in green it can rest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-webb/green-is-the-fresh-emblem-of-well-founded-hopes-in-blue-the-spirit/) [Mary Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-webb/) > [“He was ever a strong man, which is almost the same, times, as to say a man with little time for kindness. For if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-webb/he-was-ever-a-strong-man-which-is-almost-the-same-times-as-to-say-a/) [Mary Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-webb/) > [The love of nature is a passion for those in whom it once lodges. It can never be quenched. It cannot change. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-webb/the-love-of-nature-is-a-passion-for-those-in-whom-it-once-lodges-it/) [Mary Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-webb/) > [“You wasn't made like watch-dogs and house-cats and cows. You was made a fox, and you be a fox, and its queer-like to me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-webb/you-wasn-t-made-like-watch-dogs-and-house-cats-and-cows-you-was-made/) [Mary Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-webb/) [Explore all 35 Mary Webb quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-webb/) ## More Be kind quotes > [For some reason, we are truly convinced that if we criticize ourselves, the criticism will lead to change. If we are harsh, we believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geneen-roth/for-some-reason-we-are-truly-convinced-that-if-we-criticize-ourselves/) [Geneen Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geneen-roth/) > [Volunteer. Find ways to be useful. Be kind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claudia-black/volunteer-find-ways-to-be-useful-be-kind/) [Claudia Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claudia-black/) > [Remember to be kind. Remember to be loving. Remember to feel all your feelings and to take care of yourself. But most of all,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melody-beattie/remember-to-be-kind-remember-to-be-loving-remember-to-feel-all-your/) [Melody Beattie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melody-beattie/) > [(I)f we are going to be kind, let it be out of simple generosity, not because we fear guilt or retribution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-f-we-are-going-to-be-kind-let-it-be-out-of-simple-generosity-not/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Let me be patient, let me be kind, make me unselfish, without being blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauryn-hill/let-me-be-patient-let-me-be-kind-make-me-unselfish-without-being-blind/) [Lauryn Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauryn-hill/) > [But I believed in starting over. There was finally, I knew, only rupture and hurt and falling short between all persons, but, Shirley, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/but-i-believed-in-starting-over-there-was-finally-i-knew-only-rupture/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [Those type of whites who are always going to jail with Negroes are the ones who tell Negroes to be loving and be kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/those-type-of-whites-who-are-always-going-to-jail-with-negroes-are/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [I thought being in the wheelchair might be kind of limiting for me as an actor. It turned out cool in a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-beaver/i-thought-being-in-the-wheelchair-might-be-kind-of-limiting-for-me-as/) [Jim Beaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-beaver/) > [When you have the choice between being right and being kind just choose kind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/when-you-have-the-choice-between-being-right-and-being-kind-just/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [In my case, when I am trying to be "kind" I often default in a sort of toothless loving-all stance that is, actually, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/in-my-case-when-i-am-trying-to-be-kind-i-often-default-in-a-sort-of/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [What one thing does the world need most today-apart, that is, from the all-inclusive thing we call righteousness? Aren't you inclined to agree that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-c-forbes/what-one-thing-does-the-world-need-most-today-apart-that-is-from-the/) [B. C. Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-c-forbes/) > [At least with pets, and for all I know, people too, intelligence and quick-wittedness have nothing to do with a talent for being loved,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-baxter/at-least-with-pets-and-for-all-i-know-people-too-intelligence-and/) [Charles Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-baxter/) > [“A part of a healthy conscience is being able to confront consciencelessness. When you teach your daughter, explicitly or by passive rejection, that she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-stout/a-part-of-a-healthy-conscience-is-being-able-to-confront/) [Martha Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-stout/) > [Don't let fear or insecurity stop you from trying new things. Believe in yourself. Do what you love. 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That's what's interesting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ti-west/technology-has-just-been-the-major-progression-of-the-last-15-years/) [Ti West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ti-west/) [Browse all 873 Be kind quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/be-kind/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If you stop to be kind, you must swerve often from your path.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mary Webb" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-webb/if-you-stop-to-be-kind-you-must-swerve-often-from-your-path/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Be kind" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-webb/if-you-stop-to-be-kind-you-must-swerve-often-from-your-path/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb4/mary-webb-17175_be-kind_if-you-stop-to-be-kind-you-must-swerve-o_1622034.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb4/mary-webb-17175_be-kind_if-you-stop-to-be-kind-you-must-swerve-o_1622034.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb4/mary-webb-17175_be-kind_if-you-stop-to-be-kind-you-must-swerve-o_1622034.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If you stop to be kind, you must swerve often from your path.” — Mary Webb", "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 Webb", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-webb/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If you stop to be kind,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-webb/if-you-stop-to-be-kind-you-must-swerve-often-from-your-path/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-webb/if-you-stop-to-be-kind-you-must-swerve-often-from-your-path/#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 } } ] } ```