--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you must know anything, know that the…" description: "\"“If you must know anything, know that the hardest task is to live only once. That a woman on a sinking ship becomes a life raft -- no matter how soft h..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f3/ocean-vuong-23952_easy_if-you-must-know-anything-know-that-the_2325129.jpg" --- # If you must know anything, know that the hardest task is… ![“If you must know anything, know that the hardest task is to live only once. That a woman on a sinking ship becomes a life raft -- no matter how soft her skin is.” quote by Ocean Vuong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f3/ocean-vuong-23952_easy_if-you-must-know-anything-know-that-the_2325129.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f3/ocean-vuong-23952_easy_if-you-must-know-anything-know-that-the_2325129.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f3/ocean-vuong-23952_easy_if-you-must-know-anything-know-that-the_2325129.jpg) > ““If you must know anything, know that the hardest task is to live only once. That a woman on a sinking ship becomes a life raft -- no matter how soft her skin is.”” [Ocean Vuong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ocean-vuong/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life’s singularity makes every moment precious; even fragile support can become vital in crisis. **In simple terms:** Live fully; fragile help can be crucial. Key Takeaway Value each moment; recognize unexpected strength. Themes mortality vulnerability resilience Mood reflective hopeful Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - personal loss - emergency aid - relationships - mental health - creative inspiration Key Concepts existentialism human connection Questions to Reflect On - How do you honor life's brevity? - When can vulnerability become strength? A Different Perspective The metaphor may romanticize danger, overlooking systemic issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Live Only Once](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/live-only-once/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Sinking Ship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sinking-ship/) ## Related quotes > [The hardest task of a girl's life, nowadays, is to prove to a man that his intentions are serious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-rowland/the-hardest-task-of-a-girl-s-life-nowadays-is-to-prove-to-a-man-that/) [Helen Rowland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-rowland/) > [The hardest task needs the lightest hand or else its completion will not lead to freedom but to a tyranny much worse than the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/the-hardest-task-needs-the-lightest-hand-or-else-its-completion-will/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [One of the most essential yet the hardest truths that I have had to learn is that every person should be his own hardest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/one-of-the-most-essential-yet-the-hardest-truths-that-i-have-had-to/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [What is the hardest task in the world? To think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/what-is-the-hardest-task-in-the-world-to-think/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The hardest task in a girl's life is to prove to a man that his intentions are serious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-rowland/the-hardest-task-in-a-girl-s-life-is-to-prove-to-a-man-that-his/) [Helen Rowland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-rowland/) > [To endure oneself may be the hardest task in the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-herbert/to-endure-oneself-may-be-the-hardest-task-in-the-universe/) [Frank Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-herbert/) > [After self-nurturance, listening to the whispers of our hearts is probably the hardest task we've ever attempted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-ban-breathnach/after-self-nurturance-listening-to-the-whispers-of-our-hearts-is/) [Sarah Ban Breathnach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-ban-breathnach/) > [A President's hardest task is not to do what is right, but to know what is right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/a-president-s-hardest-task-is-not-to-do-what-is-right-but-to-know/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [Life will never be easy, you will have lots of ups and downs. Life will throw lots of challenges at you. But that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishika-dangol/life-will-never-be-easy-you-will-have-lots-of-ups-and-downs-life-will/) [Ishika Dangol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishika-dangol/) > [You live only once but if you do it right once is enough…!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-d-cruz/you-live-only-once-but-if-you-do-it-right-once-is-enough/) [Kevin D'cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-d-cruz/) > [“A reader lives a thousand lives before they die. The ones who never read live only once.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-leclair/a-reader-lives-a-thousand-lives-before-they-die-the-ones-who-never/) Emily LeClair > [Some people live their lives as if each day will be their last. Some approach love the same way, in a desperate attempt to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tonya-hurley/some-people-live-their-lives-as-if-each-day-will-be-their-last-some/) [Tonya Hurley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tonya-hurley/) > [“We cannot have it all. We must live with our limitations. We cannot hold onto life with higher esteem than it deserves. We live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kilroy-j-oldster/we-cannot-have-it-all-we-must-live-with-our-limitations-we-cannot/) [Kilroy J. Oldster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kilroy-j-oldster/) > [It isn't true that you live only once. You only die once. You live lots of times if you know how.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-darin/it-isn-t-true-that-you-live-only-once-you-only-die-once-you-live-lots/) [Bobby Darin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-darin/) > [You live a new life for every new language you speak. If you know only one language, you live only once.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-live-a-new-life-for-every-new-language-you-speak-if-you-know-only/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Ocean Vuong > [“It is no accident, Ma, that the comma resembles a fetus— that curve of continuation. We were all once inside our mothers, saying with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ocean-vuong/it-is-no-accident-ma-that-the-comma-resembles-a-fetus-that-curve-of/) [Ocean Vuong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ocean-vuong/) > [“Green waves surround this black rock where I sit turning bones to sonatas. Fingers blurred, I play what I know from listening to orchards…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ocean-vuong/green-waves-surround-this-black-rock-where-i-sit-turning-bones-to/) [Ocean Vuong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ocean-vuong/) > [“I watched, through the keyhole, not the man showering, but the rain falling through him: guitar strings snapping over his globed shoulders”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ocean-vuong/i-watched-through-the-keyhole-not-the-man-showering-but-the-rain/) [Ocean Vuong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ocean-vuong/) > [“Brooklyn’s too cold tonight & all my friends are three years away. My mother said I could be anything I wanted—but I chose to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ocean-vuong/brooklyn-s-too-cold-tonight-all-my-friends-are-three-years-away-my/) [Ocean Vuong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ocean-vuong/) > [“Your father is only your father until one of you forgets. Like how the spine won't remember its wings no matter how many times…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ocean-vuong/your-father-is-only-your-father-until-one-of-you-forgets-like-how-the/) [Ocean Vuong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ocean-vuong/) > [“As if my finger, / tracing your collarbone / behind closed doors, / was enough / to erase myself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ocean-vuong/as-if-my-finger-tracing-your-collarbone-behind-closed-doors-was/) [Ocean Vuong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ocean-vuong/) > [“The most beautiful part of your body is where it’s headed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ocean-vuong/the-most-beautiful-part-of-your-body-is-where-it-s-headed/) [Ocean Vuong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ocean-vuong/) > [“God must be a season, grandma said, looking out at the blizzard drowning her garden. My footsteps on the sidewalk were the smallest flights.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ocean-vuong/god-must-be-a-season-grandma-said-looking-out-at-the-blizzard/) [Ocean Vuong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ocean-vuong/) > [“Gravity breaking our kneecaps just to show us the sky.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ocean-vuong/gravity-breaking-our-kneecaps-just-to-show-us-the-sky/) [Ocean Vuong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ocean-vuong/) > [“I hold the gun & wonder if an entry wound in the night would make a hole wide as morning”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ocean-vuong/i-hold-the-gun-wonder-if-an-entry-wound-in-the-night-would-make-a/) [Ocean Vuong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ocean-vuong/) > [“In a world myriad as ours, the gaze is a singular act: to look at something is to fill your whole life with it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ocean-vuong/in-a-world-myriad-as-ours-the-gaze-is-a-singular-act-to-look-at/) [Ocean Vuong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ocean-vuong/) > [“Some people say history moves in a spiral, not the line we have come to expect. We travel through time in a circular trajectory,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ocean-vuong/some-people-say-history-moves-in-a-spiral-not-the-line-we-have-come/) [Ocean Vuong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ocean-vuong/) > [“use it to prove how the stars were always what we knew they were: the exit wounds of every misfired word”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ocean-vuong/use-it-to-prove-how-the-stars-were-always-what-we-knew-they-were-the/) [Ocean Vuong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ocean-vuong/) > [“I am writing you from inside a body that used to be yours. Which is to say, I am writing as a son.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ocean-vuong/i-am-writing-you-from-inside-a-body-that-used-to-be-yours-which-is-to/) [Ocean Vuong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ocean-vuong/) > [“When they ask you where you're from, tell them your name was fleshed from the toothless mouth of a war-woman. That you were not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ocean-vuong/when-they-ask-you-where-you-re-from-tell-them-your-name-was-fleshed/) [Ocean Vuong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ocean-vuong/) [Explore all 24 Ocean Vuong quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ocean-vuong/) ## More Easy quotes > [Public infrastructure around the world is facing unprecedented stress, with hurricanes, cyclones, floods and forest fires all increasing in frequency and intensity. It's easy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-klein/public-infrastructure-around-the-world-is-facing-unprecedented-stress/) [Naomi Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-klein/) > [I don't want easy success. It's boring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sudeep/i-don-t-want-easy-success-it-s-boring/) [Sudeep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sudeep/) > [It's very easy to fool yourself that you're working, you know, when you're really not working very hard. I mean, I'm very lazy. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-caro/it-s-very-easy-to-fool-yourself-that-you-re-working-you-know-when-you/) [Robert Caro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-caro/) > [she got a reputation for an easy smile and a sharp tongue, and using one to balance the other, she seemed friendly but distant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-allison/she-got-a-reputation-for-an-easy-smile-and-a-sharp-tongue-and-using/) [Dorothy Allison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-allison/) > [It's easy to say, let's go in and get the bad guys. But you have a divided country of Sunnis and Shias. The United…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tulsi-gabbard/it-s-easy-to-say-let-s-go-in-and-get-the-bad-guys-but-you-have-a/) [Tulsi Gabbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tulsi-gabbard/) > [People think that the Club World Cup is an easy competition, but it's not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keylor-navas/people-think-that-the-club-world-cup-is-an-easy-competition-but-it-s/) [Keylor Navas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keylor-navas/) > [New York is large, glamorous, easy-going, kindly and incurious, but above all it is a crucible - because it is large enough to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ford-madox-ford/new-york-is-large-glamorous-easy-going-kindly-and-incurious-but-above/) [Ford Madox Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ford-madox-ford/) > [I've done so many other projects where you're in a room with a reader and you're acting your lines out: 'We have to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-cummings/i-ve-done-so-many-other-projects-where-you-re-in-a-room-with-a-reader/) [Jim Cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-cummings/) > [Sometimes life can suck and not be fair ,but we have to deal with it,because we feel we cant do anything but,we can.We have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sometimes-life-can-suck-and-not-be-fair-but-we-have-to-deal-with-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Mortals are such fragile things. Just tender feelings walking around exposed in their delicate shells...Easy to crush.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-marr/mortals-are-such-fragile-things-just-tender-feelings-walking-around/) [Melissa Marr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-marr/) > [Certainly these are not easy times. But history does not contain very many easy times. Years from now, we will look back at this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-ingraham/certainly-these-are-not-easy-times-but-history-does-not-contain-very/) [Laura Ingraham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-ingraham/) > [I don't know why, but I'm an easy target. And I don't do anything to dispel it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-mcginley/i-don-t-know-why-but-i-m-an-easy-target-and-i-don-t-do-anything-to/) [Ted McGinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-mcginley/) > [I know that I'm going to have to work hard, keep working hard, and not because of this victory think, "I'm back." I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-clijsters/i-know-that-i-m-going-to-have-to-work-hard-keep-working-hard-and-not/) [Kim Clijsters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-clijsters/) > [It's easy to make mistakes. It's living with the consequences of them that's the hardest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/it-s-easy-to-make-mistakes-it-s-living-with-the-consequences-of-them/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [In business, as in politics, it is never easy to go against the beliefs and attitudes held by the majority. The businessman who moves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-paul-getty/in-business-as-in-politics-it-is-never-easy-to-go-against-the-beliefs/) [J. Paul Getty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-paul-getty/) Browse all 14,306 Easy quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“If you must know anything, know that the hardest task is to live only once. 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