--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We are all only mortal,\" said the Master…" description: "\"“We are all only mortal,\" said the Master, even more slowly. \"We do only what we can do. All the Elemental priests have certain teachings in common: on..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/646/robin-mckinley-1591_death_we-are-all-only-mortal-said-the-master-e_2871054.png" --- # We are all only mortal," said the Master, even more… ![“We are all only mortal," said the Master, even more slowly. "We do only what we can do. All the Elemental priests have certain teachings in common: one of them is that everyone, every human, every bird, badger and salamander, every blade of grass and every acorn, is doing the best it can. This is…” quote by Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/646/robin-mckinley-1591_death_we-are-all-only-mortal-said-the-master-e_2871054.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/646/robin-mckinley-1591_death_we-are-all-only-mortal-said-the-master-e_2871054.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/646/robin-mckinley-1591_death_we-are-all-only-mortal-said-the-master-e_2871054.png) > ““We are all only mortal," said the Master, even more slowly. "We do only what we can do. All the Elemental priests have certain teachings in common: one of them is that everyone, every human, every bird, badger and salamander, every blade of grass and every acorn, is doing the best it can. This is the priests' definition of mortality: the circumstance of doing what one can is that of doing one's best. Only the immortals have the luxury of furlough. Doing one's best is hard work; we rely on our surroundings because we must; when our surroundings change, we stumble. If you are running as fast as you can, only a tiny roughness of the ground may make you fall.”” [Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Everyone does their best within limits; mortality means we cannot exceed them. **In simple terms:** Do your best within limits. Key Takeaway Accept limits, strive fully. Themes mortality effort limitations Mood reflective empathetic Type philosophical advice When to use this quote - personal growth - teamwork - creative projects Key Concepts human condition resilience environmental influence Questions to Reflect On - How do you adapt when conditions shift? - What supports you in maintaining effort? A Different Perspective Limits can cause frustration when circumstances change. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Definition Mortality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/definition-mortality-3928617/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Mortal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mortal/) [Mortality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mortality/) [Mortality Circumstance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mortality-circumstance-3928618/) [Priests Definition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/priests-definition-3928619/) ## Related quotes > [“A premature death does not only rob one of the countless instances where one would have experienced pleasure, it also saves one from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/a-premature-death-does-not-only-rob-one-of-the-countless-instances/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“Take too much time, and time will take you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-kleypas/take-too-much-time-and-time-will-take-you/) [Lisa Kleypas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-kleypas/) > [“Death would not surprise us as often as it does, if we let go of the misbelief that newborns are less mortal than the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/death-would-not-surprise-us-as-often-as-it-does-if-we-let-go-of-the/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“I know that I am mortal by nature, and ephemeral; but when I trace at my pleasure the windings to and fro of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ptolemy/i-know-that-i-am-mortal-by-nature-and-ephemeral-but-when-i-trace-at/) [Ptolemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ptolemy/) > [Many of the lessons we are to learn in mortality can only be received through the things we experience and sometimes suffer. 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He did look uncooperative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-mckinley/he-didn-t-look-insane-or-inhuman-he-did-look-uncooperative/) [Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/) > [People forgot; it was in the nature of people to forget, to blur boundaries, to retell stories to come out the way they wanted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-mckinley/people-forgot-it-was-in-the-nature-of-people-to-forget-to-blur/) [Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/) > [“But he hated to see his people people unhappy--because he was a good king, not because he was a nervous one--”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-mckinley/but-he-hated-to-see-his-people-people-unhappy-because-he-was-a-good/) [Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/) > [ “\[the sheep\] sidled up beside him and bumped him lovingly with its head. Val looked at it sadly. 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