--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We are all jellyfish, too pitiful and too…" description: "\"We are all jellyfish, too pitiful and too afraid of being disliked to be honest.\" — May Sarton" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c7/may-sarton-897_being-honest_we-are-all-jellyfish-too-pitiful-and-too_1392712.jpg" --- # We are all jellyfish, too pitiful and too afraid of being… ![“We are all jellyfish, too pitiful and too afraid of being disliked to be honest.” quote by May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c7/may-sarton-897_being-honest_we-are-all-jellyfish-too-pitiful-and-too_1392712.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c7/may-sarton-897_being-honest_we-are-all-jellyfish-too-pitiful-and-too_1392712.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c7/may-sarton-897_being-honest_we-are-all-jellyfish-too-pitiful-and-too_1392712.jpg) > “We are all jellyfish, too pitiful and too afraid of being disliked to be honest.” [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author likens people to fragile jellyfish, vulnerable and fearful of rejection, highlighting a universal human insecurity. **In simple terms:** People are delicate and scared of being disliked. Key Takeaway Embrace authenticity despite fear of judgment. Themes vulnerability insecurity humanity self‑acceptance social anxiety Mood introspective empathetic Type philosophical poetic personal When to use this quote - personal relationships - creative work - self‑reflection Key Concepts existentialism psychology metaphor Questions to Reflect On - What protects us from fear of rejection? - How can we cultivate genuine connections? A Different Perspective Acknowledging fragility does not resolve underlying anxiety. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Afraid Disliked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afraid-disliked-2014366/) [Being honest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-honest/) [Disliked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disliked/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Honest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honest/) [Honesty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honesty/) [Jellyfish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jellyfish/) [Jellyfish Pitiful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jellyfish-pitiful-4859019/) [Pitiful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pitiful/) [Pitiful Afraid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pitiful-afraid-4859020/) ## Related quotes > [Give voice to what you know to be true, and do not be afraid of being disliked or exiled. 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I don't worry about them. I'll just swim right… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-nyad/a-lot-of-athletes-have-this-sort-of-invincibility-the-jellyfish/) [Diana Nyad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-nyad/) > [There is a very common, though also very silly, picture of Kant according to which as empirical beings we are not free at all,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-w-wood/there-is-a-very-common-though-also-very-silly-picture-of-kant/) [Allen W. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-w-wood/) > [ I thought beforehand, if \[Marie\] Henein is going to be a shark, I'm going to be a jellyfish, because you can't catch a jellyfish.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-decoutere/i-thought-beforehand-if-marie-henein-is-going-to-be-a-shark-i-m-going/) [Lucy DeCoutere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-decoutere/) > [What better way to learn about life in the ocean--and how we are changing it--than through stories of blind zombie worms, immortal jellyfish, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enric-sala/what-better-way-to-learn-about-life-in-the-ocean-and-how-we-are/) [Enric Sala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enric-sala/) > [Certainly jellyfish are seasonal, and owing to a complex range of environmental features there are years when they will appear in far greater numbers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-backshall/certainly-jellyfish-are-seasonal-and-owing-to-a-complex-range-of/) [Steve Backshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-backshall/) > [The most venomous animal that lives in the ocean is the box jellyfish. And every one of those barbs is sending that venom into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-nyad/the-most-venomous-animal-that-lives-in-the-ocean-is-the-box-jellyfish/) [Diana Nyad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-nyad/) > [In the creative process, my ego has always been a huge tyrant ... a dictator and kind of rude and very misleading, because sometimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/in-the-creative-process-my-ego-has-always-been-a-huge-tyrant-a/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [People laugh when I say that I think a jellyfish is one of the most beautiful things in the world. What they don't understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-handey/people-laugh-when-i-say-that-i-think-a-jellyfish-is-one-of-the-most/) [Jack Handey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-handey/) > [Life is a beautiful, magnificent thing, even to a jellyfish... The trouble is you won't fight. You've given in, continually dwelling on sickness and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-chaplin/life-is-a-beautiful-magnificent-thing-even-to-a-jellyfish-the-trouble/) [Charlie Chaplin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-chaplin/) > [Nest of Soviet fellow travelers clacking busybodies in a Soviet jellyfish front, sitting here in Leesburg oozing out their funny little propaganda and making…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-larouche/nest-of-soviet-fellow-travelers-clacking-busybodies-in-a-soviet/) [Lyndon LaRouche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-larouche/) > [There is a period in one's life - perhaps not longer than six months - when one lives in two worlds at once ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-townsend-warner/there-is-a-period-in-one-s-life-perhaps-not-longer-than-six-months/) [Sylvia Townsend Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-townsend-warner/) ## More by May Sarton > [“I felt pain like an assault, The old pain again When the world thrusts itself inside, When we have to take in the outside,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/i-felt-pain-like-an-assault-the-old-pain-again-when-the-world-thrusts/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [Most people have to talk so they won't hear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/most-people-have-to-talk-so-they-won-t-hear/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [People who cannot feel punish those who do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/people-who-cannot-feel-punish-those-who-do/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [This suspension of one's own reality, this being entirely alone in a strange city (at times I wondered if I had lost the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/this-suspension-of-one-s-own-reality-this-being-entirely-alone-in-a/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [One must think like a hero to behave like a merely decent human being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/one-must-think-like-a-hero-to-behave-like-a-merely-decent-human-being/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [Real joy is becoming exceedingly rare among artists of any kind. And I have an idea that those who can and do communicate it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/real-joy-is-becoming-exceedingly-rare-among-artists-of-any-kind-and-i/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [For to be desperate is to discover strength. / We die of comfort and by conflict live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/for-to-be-desperate-is-to-discover-strength-we-die-of-comfort-and-by/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [“I see you with that shell Held to your sensitive abstracted ear, Hunting the ocean’s rumor till you hear it well, Until you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/i-see-you-with-that-shell-held-to-your-sensitive-abstracted-ear/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [There is a wilder solitude in winter When every sense is pricked alive and keen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/there-is-a-wilder-solitude-in-winter-when-every-sense-is-pricked/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [I long for the bulbs to arrive, for the early autumn chores are melancholy, but the planting of bulbs is the work of hope…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/i-long-for-the-bulbs-to-arrive-for-the-early-autumn-chores-are/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [Why is it that people who cannot show feeling presume that that is a strength and not a weakness?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/why-is-it-that-people-who-cannot-show-feeling-presume-that-that-is-a/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [Innocence is not pure so much as pleased, Always expectant, bright-eyed, self-enclosed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/innocence-is-not-pure-so-much-as-pleased-always-expectant-bright-eyed/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [I have written every poem, every novel, for the same purpose-to find out what I think, to know where I stand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/i-have-written-every-poem-every-novel-for-the-same-purpose-to-find/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [For art is order, but it is born out of the chaos of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/for-art-is-order-but-it-is-born-out-of-the-chaos-of-life/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [all great people are humble because great people have great work and are humbled by the largeness of their dreams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/all-great-people-are-humble-because-great-people-have-great-work-and/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) [Explore all 336 May Sarton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) ## More Being honest quotes > [We have a fear of facing ourselves. That is the obstacle. Experiencing the innermost core of our existence is very embarrassing to a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chogyam-trungpa/we-have-a-fear-of-facing-ourselves-that-is-the-obstacle-experiencing/) [Chogyam Trungpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chogyam-trungpa/) > [I have often spoken of integrity as the most important of these values, realizing that integrity – and personal integrity, at that – is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/verghese-kurien/i-have-often-spoken-of-integrity-as-the-most-important-of-these/) [Verghese Kurien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/verghese-kurien/) > [I had never done anything with blue screen before, or prosthetics, or anything like that. Lord of the Rings was like stepping into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-blanchett/i-had-never-done-anything-with-blue-screen-before-or-prosthetics-or/) [Cate Blanchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-blanchett/) > [Let's be honest, if the Democrats didn't support ignoring our nation's immigration laws, there is no way they could win the presidency or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-nugent/let-s-be-honest-if-the-democrats-didn-t-support-ignoring-our-nation-s/) [Ted Nugent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-nugent/) > [I think what saved me is me being honest. I think I somewhow had the courage to do something and say something that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-degeneres/i-think-what-saved-me-is-me-being-honest-i-think-i-somewhow-had-the/) [Ellen DeGeneres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-degeneres/) > [An actor has to evaluate his own abilities and be honest with himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-newman/an-actor-has-to-evaluate-his-own-abilities-and-be-honest-with-himself/) [Paul Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-newman/) > [The cultural integration of psychedelics won't happen overnight, and the question of young people is perhaps the most difficult involved. The first step is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-doblin/the-cultural-integration-of-psychedelics-won-t-happen-overnight-and/) [Rick Doblin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-doblin/) > [I'm a person of change and I must be honest to my artistry and my creativity. That's part of the word 'jazz'... it's an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maynard-ferguson/i-m-a-person-of-change-and-i-must-be-honest-to-my-artistry-and-my/) [Maynard Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maynard-ferguson/) > [I'm going to be honest, I would love for Flava Flav to be president. It would bring a lot of excitement to the country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dj-khaled/i-m-going-to-be-honest-i-would-love-for-flava-flav-to-be-president-it/) [DJ Khaled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dj-khaled/) > [The buildings that were in question, they said in the same report, which was - actually, it wasn't even a bad story, to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/the-buildings-that-were-in-question-they-said-in-the-same-report/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [I guess it has to be healthy, you have to be honest with yourself and I think that's when ego is okay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophia-amoruso/i-guess-it-has-to-be-healthy-you-have-to-be-honest-with-yourself-and/) [Sophia Amoruso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophia-amoruso/) > [ The opening for solid waste is very small \[in the space ship\]. It's not toilet-bowl size. And aim is critical. To be honest with… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-mullane/the-opening-for-solid-waste-is-very-small-in-the-space-ship-it-s-not/) [Mike Mullane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-mullane/) > [We had 90 percent rates, but nobody paid them. And so you had all these exemptions, exclusions, shelters, all this kind of stuff. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-santorum/we-had-90-percent-rates-but-nobody-paid-them-and-so-you-had-all-these/) [Rick Santorum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-santorum/) > [I think, as a filmmaker, it's important to be honest with yourself at all times in terms of what's working and what's not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-wingard/i-think-as-a-filmmaker-it-s-important-to-be-honest-with-yourself-at/) [Adam Wingard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-wingard/) > [We live in a world in which the only utopian visions arrive in commercial breaks: magical visions of an impossibly hospitable world, peopled by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/we-live-in-a-world-in-which-the-only-utopian-visions-arrive-in/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) [Browse all 1,333 Being honest quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-honest/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We are all jellyfish, too pitiful and too afraid of being disliked to be honest.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "May Sarton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/we-are-all-jellyfish-too-pitiful-and-too-afraid-of-being-disliked-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Being honest" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/we-are-all-jellyfish-too-pitiful-and-too-afraid-of-being-disliked-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c7/may-sarton-897_being-honest_we-are-all-jellyfish-too-pitiful-and-too_1392712.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c7/may-sarton-897_being-honest_we-are-all-jellyfish-too-pitiful-and-too_1392712.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c7/may-sarton-897_being-honest_we-are-all-jellyfish-too-pitiful-and-too_1392712.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We are all jellyfish, too pitiful and too afraid of being disliked to be honest.” — May Sarton", "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": "May Sarton", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We are all jellyfish, too pitiful...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/we-are-all-jellyfish-too-pitiful-and-too-afraid-of-being-disliked-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/we-are-all-jellyfish-too-pitiful-and-too-afraid-of-being-disliked-to/#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 } } ] } ```