---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: from the pulling and hauling stands what…"
description: "\"“from the pulling and hauling stands what I am, Stands amused, complacent, compassionating, idle, unitary, Looks down, is erect, or bends an arm on a..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9f/walt-whitman-265_head-curious_from-the-pulling-and-hauling-stands-what_329453.jpg"
---

#  from the pulling and hauling stands what I am, Stands…

![“from the pulling and hauling stands what I am, Stands amused, complacent, compassionating, idle, unitary, Looks down, is erect, or bends an arm on an impalpable certain rest, Looking with side-curved head curious what will come next, Both in and out of the game and watching and wondering at it…” quote by Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9f/walt-whitman-265_head-curious_from-the-pulling-and-hauling-stands-what_329453.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9f/walt-whitman-265_head-curious_from-the-pulling-and-hauling-stands-what_329453.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9f/walt-whitman-265_head-curious_from-the-pulling-and-hauling-stands-what_329453.jpg)

> ““from the pulling and hauling stands what I am,  Stands amused, complacent, compassionating, idle, unitary,  Looks down, is erect, or bends an arm on an impalpable certain rest,  Looking with side-curved head curious what will come next,  Both in and out of the game and watching and wondering at it.  Backward I see in my own days where I sweated through fog with      linguists and contenders,  I have no mockings or arguments, I witness and wait.””

[Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/)

## About This Quote

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

Observes life’s varied roles, curiosity, and patient waiting amidst constant change.

**In simple terms:** Life is many roles, curiosity, and patience.

Key Takeaway

Embrace curiosity and patience.

Themes

identity curiosity patience

Mood

contemplative hopeful

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- traveling
- creative work
- learning new skills

Key Concepts

existential reflection human experience

Questions to Reflect On

- What does “waiting” mean for you?
- How do you balance action and observation?

A Different Perspective

May lead to indecision or stagnation.

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[Head Curious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/head-curious-2041601/) [Rest Looking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rest-looking-3086952/) [Stands Amused](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stands-amused-3086951/) [Watching Wondering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/watching-wondering-3086953/) [Wondering Backward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wondering-backward-3086950/)

## Related quotes

> [Apart from the pulling and hauling stands what I am, Stands amused, complacent, compassionating, idle, unitary, Looks down, is erect, or bends an arm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/apart-from-the-pulling-and-hauling-stands-what-i-am-stands-amused/)

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## More by Walt Whitman

> [O lands! O all so dear to me - what you are, I become part of that, whatever it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/o-lands-o-all-so-dear-to-me-what-you-are-i-become-part-of-that/)

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> [“Each of us inevitable, Each of us limitless—each of us with his or her right upon the earth, Each of us allow'd the eternal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/each-of-us-inevitable-each-of-us-limitless-each-of-us-with-his-or-her/)

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> [Comerado, this is no book,Who touches this, touches a man,(Is it night? Are we here alone?)It is I you hold, and who holds you,I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/comerado-this-is-no-book-who-touches-this-touches-a-man-is-it-night/)

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> [I have sometimes thought that the laws ought not to punish those actions of evil which are committed when the senses are steeped in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/i-have-sometimes-thought-that-the-laws-ought-not-to-punish-those/)

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> [Oh while I live, to be the ruler of life, not a slave, to meet life as a powerful conqueror, and nothing exterior to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/oh-while-i-live-to-be-the-ruler-of-life-not-a-slave-to-meet-life-as-a/)

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> [“it makes such difference where you read”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/it-makes-such-difference-where-you-read/)

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> [Wisdom is not finally tested in the schools, Wisdom cannot be pass'd from one having it to another not having it, Wisdom is of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/wisdom-is-not-finally-tested-in-the-schools-wisdom-cannot-be-pass-d/)

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> [Strange, (is it not?) that battles, martyrs, blood, even assassination should so condense - perhaps only really lastingly condense - a Nationality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/strange-is-it-not-that-battles-martyrs-blood-even-assassination/)

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> [I think I could always live with animals. The more you're around people, the more you love animals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/i-think-i-could-always-live-with-animals-the-more-you-re-around/)

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> [“I am the poet of the Body and I am the poet of the Soul, The pleasures of heaven are with me and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/i-am-the-poet-of-the-body-and-i-am-the-poet-of-the-soul-the-pleasures/)

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> [So here I sit in the early candle-light of old age-I and my book-casting backward glances over out travel'd road.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/so-here-i-sit-in-the-early-candle-light-of-old-age-i-and-my-book/)

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> [Re-examine all you have been told. Dismiss what insults your soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/re-examine-all-you-have-been-told-dismiss-what-insults-your-soul/)

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> [This is what you shall do: love the earth and sun, and animals, despise riches, give alms to every one that asks, stand up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/this-is-what-you-shall-do-love-the-earth-and-sun-and-animals-despise/)

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> [Each of us inevitable; Each of us limitless-each of us with his or her right upon the earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/each-of-us-inevitable-each-of-us-limitless-each-of-us-with-his-or-her-2/)

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> [Silence? What can New York-noisy, roaring, rumbling, tumbling, bustling, story, turbulent New York-have to do with silence? Amid the universal clatter, the incessant din…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/silence-what-can-new-york-noisy-roaring-rumbling-tumbling-bustling/)

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