--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The flower which is single need not envy…" description: "\"The flower which is single need not envy the thorns that are numerous.\" — Rabindranath Tagore" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33c/rabindranath-tagore-383_envy_the-flower-which-is-single-need-not-envy_481032.png" --- # The flower which is single need not envy the thorns that… ![“The flower which is single need not envy the thorns that are numerous.” quote by Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33c/rabindranath-tagore-383_envy_the-flower-which-is-single-need-not-envy_481032.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33c/rabindranath-tagore-383_envy_the-flower-which-is-single-need-not-envy_481032.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33c/rabindranath-tagore-383_envy_the-flower-which-is-single-need-not-envy_481032.png) > “The flower which is single need not envy the thorns that are numerous.” [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Simplicity need not resent abundance; contentment comes from within. **In simple terms:** Simple things need not envy many. Key Takeaway Cultivate inner contentment. Themes contentment humility nature Mood peaceful contemplative Type spiritual inspirational When to use this quote - personal growth - mindfulness - environmental ethics Key Concepts Philosophy of self spirituality Questions to Reflect On - What does simplicity mean to you? - How can you appreciate your own gifts? A Different Perspective Comparing self to others can cause unnecessary envy. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Envy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/envy/) [Envy Thorns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/envy-thorns-4136000/) [Flower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flower/) [Flower Single](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flower-single-4080888/) [Single](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/single/) [Thorns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thorns/) [Thorns Numerous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thorns-numerous-4135999/) ## Related quotes > [The flower you single out is a rejection of all other flowers; nevertheless, only on these terms is it beautiful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/the-flower-you-single-out-is-a-rejection-of-all-other-flowers/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [A flower is a daisy chain, a graduation, a valentine; a flower is New Year's Eve and an orchid in your hair; a flower…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-hersey/a-flower-is-a-daisy-chain-a-graduation-a-valentine-a-flower-is-new/) [Jean Hersey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-hersey/) > [“Let him only see the thorns who has eyes to see the rose.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/let-him-only-see-the-thorns-who-has-eyes-to-see-the-rose/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [“If love is a battlefield and we all get scars…These were my reminders…my necessary thorns.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sabrina-childress/if-love-is-a-battlefield-and-we-all-get-scars-these-were-my-reminders/) [Sabrina Childress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sabrina-childress/) > [I will no longer wound myself with the thoughts and questions that have surrounded me like thorns: that is a penance You do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/i-will-no-longer-wound-myself-with-the-thoughts-and-questions-that/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [Old Flossie settle down on the other side of What-the-Dickens and dragged some handiwork out of a sack. She armed herself with two thorns…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-maguire/old-flossie-settle-down-on-the-other-side-of-what-the-dickens-and/) [Gregory Maguire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-maguire/) > [“I fall upon the thorns of life! I bleed !”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/i-fall-upon-the-thorns-of-life-i-bleed/) [Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/) > [If you don't sow your field what harvest other than thorns and weeds can you anticipate?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/if-you-don-t-sow-your-field-what-harvest-other-than-thorns-and-weeds/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [What good does it do me, after all, if an ever-watchful authority keeps an eye out to ensure that my pleasures will be tranquil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/what-good-does-it-do-me-after-all-if-an-ever-watchful-authority-keeps/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [He that sows thorns should never go barefoot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/he-that-sows-thorns-should-never-go-barefoot/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [As the Arabs say, "The nature of rain is the same, but it makes thorns grow in the marshes and flowers in the gardens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-de-mello/as-the-arabs-say-the-nature-of-rain-is-the-same-but-it-makes-thorns/) [Anthony de Mello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-de-mello/) > [You know what’s a great metaphor for love? Sleeping beauty. Because you have to plow through this incredible thicket of thorns in order to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/you-know-what-s-a-great-metaphor-for-love-sleeping-beauty-because-you/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ME AND YOU When I hold a rose, I see the soft, velvety petals and smile, because tucked between those precious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-schroeder/the-difference-between-me-and-you-when-i-hold-a-rose-i-see-the-soft/) [Lisa Schroeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-schroeder/) > [The bird with the thorn in its breast, it follows an immutable law; it is driven by it knows not what to impale itself,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-mccullough/the-bird-with-the-thorn-in-its-breast-it-follows-an-immutable-law-it/) [Colleen McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-mccullough/) > [Sometimes, sometimes it is really difficult to turn and walk away from someone you have loved and cherished for so long. You know deep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-kreger/sometimes-sometimes-it-is-really-difficult-to-turn-and-walk-away-from/) [David Kreger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-kreger/) ## More by Rabindranath Tagore > [We do not want nowadays temples of worship and outward rites and ceremonies. What we really want is an Asram. We want a place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/we-do-not-want-nowadays-temples-of-worship-and-outward-rites-and/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [Set the bird's wings with gold and it will never again soar in thesky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/set-the-bird-s-wings-with-gold-and-it-will-never-again-soar-in-thesky/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [From the grasses in the field to the stars in the sky, each one is doing just that; and there is such profound peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/from-the-grasses-in-the-field-to-the-stars-in-the-sky-each-one-is/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [Plant flowers in others' gardens and your life becomes a bouquet! Submitted by Lisa Letto, Coordinator, Nutrition Resource and Volunteer Centre, College of Pharmacy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/plant-flowers-in-others-gardens-and-your-life-becomes-a-bouquet/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [The meaning of this is, that whomsoever we love, in him we find our own soul in the highest sense. The final truth of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/the-meaning-of-this-is-that-whomsoever-we-love-in-him-we-find-our-own/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [If you shed tears when you miss the sun, you also miss the stars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/if-you-shed-tears-when-you-miss-the-sun-you-also-miss-the-stars/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [Go not to the temple to put flowers upon the feet of God, first fill your own house with the fragrance of love. Go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/go-not-to-the-temple-to-put-flowers-upon-the-feet-of-god-first-fill/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [The best kind of wealth is to give up inordinate desires.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/the-best-kind-of-wealth-is-to-give-up-inordinate-desires/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [Now it is time to sit quiet, face to face with thee, and to sing dedication of life in this silent and overflowing leisure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/now-it-is-time-to-sit-quiet-face-to-face-with-thee-and-to-sing/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [If it is necessary to die in order to live like men, what harm in dying?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/if-it-is-necessary-to-die-in-order-to-live-like-men-what-harm-in-dying/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [“Strong Mercy: My desires are many and my cry is pitiful, but ever didst thou save me by hard refusals; and this strong mercy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/strong-mercy-my-desires-are-many-and-my-cry-is-pitiful-but-ever-didst/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [The weak can be terrible because they try furiously to appear strong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/the-weak-can-be-terrible-because-they-try-furiously-to-appear-strong/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [The movement of life has to rest in its own music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/the-movement-of-life-has-to-rest-in-its-own-music/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [It is the docile who achieve the most impossible things in this world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/it-is-the-docile-who-achieve-the-most-impossible-things-in-this-world/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [“There, display and extravagance, in dress, in furniture, in costly entertainments, are startling. They seem to push you back into a corner, like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/there-display-and-extravagance-in-dress-in-furniture-in-costly/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) [Explore all 596 Rabindranath Tagore quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) ## More Envy quotes > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“He often remembered his dad's admonition that envy was mental theft. If you coveted another man's possessions, Dad said, then you should be willing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/he-often-remembered-his-dad-s-admonition-that-envy-was-mental-theft/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [“I don't envy "busy." Busy means having a schedule, not living life. What I really covet is leisure and peace of mind. Those who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-lynn-hope/i-don-t-envy-busy-busy-means-having-a-schedule-not-living-life-what-i/) [Donna Lynn Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-lynn-hope/) > [There is no sweeter sound than the crumbling of one's fellow man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/there-is-no-sweeter-sound-than-the-crumbling-of-one-s-fellow-man/) [Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/) > [Thinking, or more precisely identification with thinking, gives rise to and maintains the ego, which, in our Western society in particular, is out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/thinking-or-more-precisely-identification-with-thinking-gives-rise-to/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [“Is it not strange that the more someone has, the less he feels he has? Envy can never be sated.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-wheeler/is-it-not-strange-that-the-more-someone-has-the-less-he-feels-he-has/) [Jeff Wheeler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-wheeler/) > [I avoid envy at all costs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claudia-winkleman/i-avoid-envy-at-all-costs/) [Claudia Winkleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claudia-winkleman/) > [Sometimes I envy painters, it is wonderful to remain in front of a bouquet of flowers a whole morning, or even longer. A photographer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edouard-boubat/sometimes-i-envy-painters-it-is-wonderful-to-remain-in-front-of-a/) [Edouard Boubat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edouard-boubat/) > [avarice breeds envy, a worm that is always gnawing, letting the avaricious enjoy neither their own nor anyone else's good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-catherine-of-siena/avarice-breeds-envy-a-worm-that-is-always-gnawing-letting-the/) [St. Catherine of Siena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-catherine-of-siena/) > [“You don’t see someone flying and you begin to bite yourself for not being able to do that. You do what you can.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/you-don-t-see-someone-flying-and-you-begin-to-bite-yourself-for-not/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [Knowledge forbidden? Suspicious, reasonless. Why should their Lord Envy them that? Can it be sin to know, Can it be death? And do they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/knowledge-forbidden-suspicious-reasonless-why-should-their-lord-envy/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) > [“Who would have thought you had so many supporters?" she whispered. "Not mine, my love. Yours. I had not a one till you started…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michele-sinclair/who-would-have-thought-you-had-so-many-supporters-she-whispered-not/) [Michele Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michele-sinclair/) > [“Treachery is always a hairy caterpillar bred of a small butterfly called envy, no matter how lofty the principles involved.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fazil-iskander/treachery-is-always-a-hairy-caterpillar-bred-of-a-small-butterfly/) [Fazil Iskander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fazil-iskander/) > [Yes, Clay Matthews has a long, golden, Fabio-esque flowing mane that most women would chick-slap someone for. And yes, the shiny, beautiful, dark locks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-foudy/yes-clay-matthews-has-a-long-golden-fabio-esque-flowing-mane-that/) [Julie Foudy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-foudy/) > [“I have known many true connoisseurs, with excellent tastes that range across the humanities and the culinary arts--and they never fail to have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/i-have-known-many-true-connoisseurs-with-excellent-tastes-that-range/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) [Browse all 2,111 Envy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/envy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The flower which is single need not envy the thorns that are numerous.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Rabindranath Tagore" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/the-flower-which-is-single-need-not-envy-the-thorns-that-are-numerous/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Envy" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/the-flower-which-is-single-need-not-envy-the-thorns-that-are-numerous/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33c/rabindranath-tagore-383_envy_the-flower-which-is-single-need-not-envy_481032.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33c/rabindranath-tagore-383_envy_the-flower-which-is-single-need-not-envy_481032.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33c/rabindranath-tagore-383_envy_the-flower-which-is-single-need-not-envy_481032.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The flower which is single need not envy the thorns that are numerous.” — Rabindranath Tagore", "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": "Rabindranath Tagore", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The flower which is single need...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/the-flower-which-is-single-need-not-envy-the-thorns-that-are-numerous/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/the-flower-which-is-single-need-not-envy-the-thorns-that-are-numerous/#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 } } ] } ```