---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'd forgotten how that sort of craving…"
description: "\"I'd forgotten how that sort of craving felt, how it rose suddenly and loudly from the pit of my stomach like a flock of startle birds, then floated bac..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f92/sue-monk-kidd-404_bird_i-d-forgotten-how-that-sort-of-craving-f_2931038.png"
---

#  I'd forgotten how that sort of craving felt, how it rose…

![“I'd forgotten how that sort of craving felt, how it rose suddenly and loudly from the pit of my stomach like a flock of startle birds, then floated back down in the slow, beguiling way of feathers.” quote by Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f92/sue-monk-kidd-404_bird_i-d-forgotten-how-that-sort-of-craving-f_2931038.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f92/sue-monk-kidd-404_bird_i-d-forgotten-how-that-sort-of-craving-f_2931038.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f92/sue-monk-kidd-404_bird_i-d-forgotten-how-that-sort-of-craving-f_2931038.png)

> “I'd forgotten how that sort of craving felt, how it rose suddenly and loudly from the pit of my stomach like a flock of startle birds, then floated back down in the slow, beguiling way of feathers.”

[Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Cravings can surge suddenly, then settle gently, likened to startled birds becoming soft feathers.

**In simple terms:** Intense desires rise quickly, then calm.

Key Takeaway

Observe and soothe sudden urges.

Themes

desire emotional turbulence inner life

Mood

poetic observational

Type

inspirational contemplative

When to use this quote

- stress response
- creative inspiration
- mindfulness practice
- emotional regulation

Key Concepts

psychology metaphor

Questions to Reflect On

- What triggers your sudden cravings?
- How can you transform them into calm?

A Different Perspective

May romanticize unhealthy cravings.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bird/) [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rose/)

## Related quotes

> [It always seemed to me that the herbaceous peony is the very epitome of June. Larger than any rose, it has something of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vita-sackville-west/it-always-seemed-to-me-that-the-herbaceous-peony-is-the-very-epitome/)

[Vita Sackville-West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vita-sackville-west/)

> [“No amount of self-sufficiency could dispel the craving he still felt for that person we no longer talked about; that person who'd taken him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-winman/no-amount-of-self-sufficiency-could-dispel-the-craving-he-still-felt/)

[Sarah Winman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-winman/)

> [I am only a sparrow amongst a great flock of sparrows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evita-peron/i-am-only-a-sparrow-amongst-a-great-flock-of-sparrows/)

[Evita Peron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evita-peron/)

> [We used to send whole flocks of birds shooting out of our mouths and never managed to grab them by their wings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-mankell/we-used-to-send-whole-flocks-of-birds-shooting-out-of-our-mouths-and/)

[Henning Mankell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-mankell/)

> [We find that alchemy has to do with magicians or magic and may even have roots in the Chaldean people who lived in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-alan-wolf/we-find-that-alchemy-has-to-do-with-magicians-or-magic-and-may-even/)

[Fred Alan Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-alan-wolf/)

> [To be a good shepherd is to shear the flock, not skin it!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiberius/to-be-a-good-shepherd-is-to-shear-the-flock-not-skin-it/)

[Tiberius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiberius/)

> [There are two kinds of leaders: those who are interested in the flock, and those who are interested in the fleece.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-esar/there-are-two-kinds-of-leaders-those-who-are-interested-in-the-flock/)

[Evan Esar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-esar/)

> [People want to be at the center of the Universe...and they're going to flock to anybody who tells them that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-j-stenger/people-want-to-be-at-the-center-of-the-universe-and-they-re-going-to/)

[Victor J. Stenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-j-stenger/)

> [The American people intuitively understand this, which is why the majority of Catholics practice birth control and some of those opposed to gay marriage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/the-american-people-intuitively-understand-this-which-is-why-the/)

[Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/)

> [“Without this flock, I would be worthless. Without the people in this flock, I'd be empty. Without the people who started this flock, I'd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-a-thompson/without-this-flock-i-would-be-worthless-without-the-people-in-this/)

[Shannon A. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-a-thompson/)

> [Remember the band, Flock of Seagulls? They had their van stolen. I was like, They still have a van?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-ferguson/remember-the-band-flock-of-seagulls-they-had-their-van-stolen-i-was/)

[Craig Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-ferguson/)

> [The holy heaven yearns to wound the earth, and yearning layeth hold on the earth to join in wedlock; the rain, fallen from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/the-holy-heaven-yearns-to-wound-the-earth-and-yearning-layeth-hold-on/)

[Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/)

> [As a leader... I have always endeavored to listen to what each and every person in a discussion had to say before venturing my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-mandela/as-a-leader-i-have-always-endeavored-to-listen-to-what-each-and-every/)

[Nelson Mandela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-mandela/)

> [It is important to meet people where they are. It reminds me of yoga, to which people may flock for the physical benefits, often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-dawn/it-is-important-to-meet-people-where-they-are-it-reminds-me-of-yoga/)

[Karen Dawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-dawn/)

> [Max—you have a bigger mission than finding the flock's parents. Focus on helping the whole world, not just your friends. I held my wings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-patterson/max-you-have-a-bigger-mission-than-finding-the-flock-s-parents-focus/)

[James Patterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-patterson/)

## More by Sue Monk Kidd

> [“But benevolent patriarchy is still patriarchy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/but-benevolent-patriarchy-is-still-patriarchy/)

[Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/)

> [“It's part of our overall Body Negation Program.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/it-s-part-of-our-overall-body-negation-program/)

[Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/)

> [“That was the thing mauma and I loved, our time with the quilts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/that-was-the-thing-mauma-and-i-loved-our-time-with-the-quilts/)

[Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/)

> [In recent years my understanding of God had evolved into increasingly remote abstractions. I'd come to think of God in terms like Divine Reality,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/in-recent-years-my-understanding-of-god-had-evolved-into-increasingly/)

[Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/)

> [we need not avoid our active lives, but simply bring to them a new vision and shift of gravity. for in the center we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/we-need-not-avoid-our-active-lives-but-simply-bring-to-them-a-new/)

[Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/)

> [“The mermaids came to me finally, in the pink hours of my life. They are my consolation. For them I dove with arms outstretched,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/the-mermaids-came-to-me-finally-in-the-pink-hours-of-my-life-they-are/)

[Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/)

> [“The bag contained a pair of white cotton gloves stained the color of age.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/the-bag-contained-a-pair-of-white-cotton-gloves-stained-the-color-of/)

[Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/)

> [I eventually found that the soul is more than an immortal commodity to win and save. It is the repository of the inner divine,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/i-eventually-found-that-the-soul-is-more-than-an-immortal-commodity/)

[Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/)

> [“Readiness for dying arrives by attending the smallest moment and finding the eternal inside of it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/readiness-for-dying-arrives-by-attending-the-smallest-moment-and/)

[Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/)

> [“I sat at her desk and turned one page after another, staring at what looked like bits and pieces of black lace laid cross…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/i-sat-at-her-desk-and-turned-one-page-after-another-staring-at-what/)

[Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/)

> [The translucence that comes when life hardens into a bead of such cruel perfection you see it with the purest clarity. Everything suddenly there--life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/the-translucence-that-comes-when-life-hardens-into-a-bead-of-such/)

[Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/)

> [“There's no pain on earth that doesn't require a benevolent witness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/there-s-no-pain-on-earth-that-doesn-t-require-a-benevolent-witness/)

[sue monk kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/)

> [“afflicted with the worst female curse on earth, the need to mold myself to expectations.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/afflicted-with-the-worst-female-curse-on-earth-the-need-to-mold/)

[Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/)

> [“Her forbidden bath all those months ago still hung leaden between us, though Handful didn't seem the least bit ashamed by my discovery of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/her-forbidden-bath-all-those-months-ago-still-hung-leaden-between-us/)

[Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/)

> [“Why should God’s perfection be based on having an unchanging nature?” I asked. “Isn’t flexibility more perfect than stasis?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/why-should-god-s-perfection-be-based-on-having-an-unchanging-nature-i/)

[Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/)

[Explore all 584 Sue Monk Kidd quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/)

## More Bird quotes

> [And I have been very blessed, having coached some of the greatest that have ever played the game. But if I had to start…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/red-auerbach/and-i-have-been-very-blessed-having-coached-some-of-the-greatest-that/)

[Red Auerbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/red-auerbach/)

> [Some minds corrode and grow inactive under the loss of personal liberty; others grow morbid and irritable; but it is the nature of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/some-minds-corrode-and-grow-inactive-under-the-loss-of-personal/)

[Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/)

> [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/)

> [“He unfixes the metal notch and slips his hand around the body of the bird. Feels its heat, its small heart beating. He stares…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-schuyler/he-unfixes-the-metal-notch-and-slips-his-hand-around-the-body-of-the/)

Nina Schuyler

> [I would rather learn from one bird how to sing than to teach 10,000 stars how not to dance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/i-would-rather-learn-from-one-bird-how-to-sing-than-to-teach-10-000/)

[e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/)

> [Can you imagine any better example of divine creative accomplishment that the consummate flying machine that is a bird? The skeleton, very flexible and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-murchie/can-you-imagine-any-better-example-of-divine-creative-accomplishment/)

[Guy Murchie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-murchie/)

> [Surely, God could have caused birds to fly with their bones made of solid gold, with their veins full of quicksilver, with their flesh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galileo-galilei/surely-god-could-have-caused-birds-to-fly-with-their-bones-made-of/)

[Galileo Galilei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galileo-galilei/)

> [And wheresoever, in his rich creation, Sweet music breathes--in wave, or bird, or soul-- 'Tis but the faint and far reverberation Of that great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-sargent-osgood/and-wheresoever-in-his-rich-creation-sweet-music-breathes-in-wave-or/)

[Frances Sargent Osgood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-sargent-osgood/)

> [A clock struck out the hour of twelve, and the bird in the hedgerow was still singing as we marched out to the roadway,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-macgill/a-clock-struck-out-the-hour-of-twelve-and-the-bird-in-the-hedgerow/)

[Patrick MacGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-macgill/)

> [Every wife ought to answer for her man. If the husband be engaged in a seditious club, or drinks mysterious healths, or be frugal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/every-wife-ought-to-answer-for-her-man-if-the-husband-be-engaged-in-a/)

[Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/)

> [Meanwhile, the trees were just as green as before; the birds sang and the sun shone as clearly now as ever. The familiar surroundings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/meanwhile-the-trees-were-just-as-green-as-before-the-birds-sang-and/)

[Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/)

> [When they started to drain a swamp where birds and fish had lived, for a new housing development down the road from his apartment,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maile-meloy/when-they-started-to-drain-a-swamp-where-birds-and-fish-had-lived-for/)

[Maile Meloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maile-meloy/)

> [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/)

> [Real like sucks the life out of losers. if you want to fuck with the eagles, you must learn how to fly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/real-like-sucks-the-life-out-of-losers-if-you-want-to-fuck-with-the/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“If we studied birds ,maybe we could learn to be free.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-alire-s-enz/if-we-studied-birds-maybe-we-could-learn-to-be-free/)

[Benjamin Alire Sáenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-alire-s-enz/)

[Browse all 4,802 Bird quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bird/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "I'd forgotten how that sort of craving felt, how it rose suddenly and loudly from the pit of my stomach like a flock of startle birds, then floated back down in the slow, beguiling way of feathers.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Sue Monk Kidd"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/i-d-forgotten-how-that-sort-of-craving-felt-how-it-rose-suddenly-and/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Bird"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/i-d-forgotten-how-that-sort-of-craving-felt-how-it-rose-suddenly-and/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f92/sue-monk-kidd-404_bird_i-d-forgotten-how-that-sort-of-craving-f_2931038.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f92/sue-monk-kidd-404_bird_i-d-forgotten-how-that-sort-of-craving-f_2931038.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f92/sue-monk-kidd-404_bird_i-d-forgotten-how-that-sort-of-craving-f_2931038.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I'd forgotten how that sort of craving felt, how it rose suddenly and loudly from the pit of my stomach like…” — Sue Monk Kidd",
                "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": "Sue Monk Kidd",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "I'd forgotten how that sort of...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/i-d-forgotten-how-that-sort-of-craving-felt-how-it-rose-suddenly-and/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/i-d-forgotten-how-that-sort-of-craving-felt-how-it-rose-suddenly-and/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
