--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I embrace emerging experience, I…" description: "\"I embrace emerging experience, I participate in discovery. I am a butterfly. I am not a butterfly collector. I want the experience of the butterfly.\" —..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e92/william-stafford-8165_butterfly_i-embrace-emerging-experience-i-particip_2052101.png" --- # I embrace emerging experience, I participate in discovery… ![“I embrace emerging experience, I participate in discovery. I am a butterfly. I am not a butterfly collector. I want the experience of the butterfly.” quote by William Stafford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e92/william-stafford-8165_butterfly_i-embrace-emerging-experience-i-particip_2052101.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e92/william-stafford-8165_butterfly_i-embrace-emerging-experience-i-particip_2052101.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e92/william-stafford-8165_butterfly_i-embrace-emerging-experience-i-particip_2052101.png) > “I embrace emerging experience, I participate in discovery. I am a butterfly. I am not a butterfly collector. I want the experience of the butterfly.” [William Stafford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-stafford/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker seeks direct experience of nature, valuing personal encounter over collection or ownership. **In simple terms:** Seek experience, not possession. Key Takeaway Live the moment, observe fully. Themes nature mindfulness experience non‑possession Mood reflective curious Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - birdwatching - gardening - travel - field research Key Concepts Phenomenology presence eco‑psychology Questions to Reflect On - How do you engage fully with fleeting moments? - What does “not a collector” teach about appreciation? A Different Perspective Experience alone cannot replace deeper understanding. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Butterfly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/butterfly/) [Collectors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/collectors/) [Discovery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discovery/) [Experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experience/) ## Related quotes > [17. Butterfly A butterfly fluttered its wings in a wind thick with the smell of seaweed. His dry lips felt the touch of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ry-nosuke-akutagawa/17-butterfly-a-butterfly-fluttered-its-wings-in-a-wind-thick-with-the/) [Ryūnosuke Akutagawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ry-nosuke-akutagawa/) > [If we imagine that the only right that we have is to make commodifiable objects, then we limit our practice, and we limit the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theaster-gates/if-we-imagine-that-the-only-right-that-we-have-is-to-make/) [Theaster Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theaster-gates/) > [“Collectors Have A New, Troubling Way To”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/collectors-have-a-new-troubling-way-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Some prescient American collectors, including Vicki and Kent Logan and Mera and Donald Rubell, began collecting Chinese art before 2000 with a genuine passion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arne-glimcher/some-prescient-american-collectors-including-vicki-and-kent-logan-and/) [Arne Glimcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arne-glimcher/) > [There is a complete difference between art and the art market. Prices are high now for the simple reason that there are people are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-craig-martin/there-is-a-complete-difference-between-art-and-the-art-market-prices/) [Michael Craig-Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-craig-martin/) > [I see a lot of people who love their jobs. I see some garbage collectors smiling as they go about their work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willie-stargell/i-see-a-lot-of-people-who-love-their-jobs-i-see-some-garbage/) [Willie Stargell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willie-stargell/) > [Share your enthusiasm with the collector's enthusiasm for the work, and discover things together. Be nice and appreciative and at the same time give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kostabi/share-your-enthusiasm-with-the-collector-s-enthusiasm-for-the-work/) [Mark Kostabi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kostabi/) > [I am very focused on large-scale deployments of renewable power and how we're going to get this done. Imagine our military bases covered with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcdonough/i-am-very-focused-on-large-scale-deployments-of-renewable-power-and/) [William McDonough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcdonough/) > [... Michael Bloomfield was the antithesis of a collector ... he didn't care how old a guitar was; all he wanted was something that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-gravenites/michael-bloomfield-was-the-antithesis-of-a-collector-he-didn-t-care/) Nick Gravenites > [I found so-called great art too pompous, too stiff. What at this time was called minor art was freer, more imaginative, more open to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lipchitz/i-found-so-called-great-art-too-pompous-too-stiff-what-at-this-time/) [Jacques Lipchitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lipchitz/) > [“Collectors wanted pictures of the items they'd gathered, both to form Catalina of the whole and to record individual favorites.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-todd/collectors-wanted-pictures-of-the-items-they-d-gathered-both-to-form/) [Kim Todd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-todd/) > [I don't want to sell to street art collectors, I want to sell to art collectors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-eine/i-don-t-want-to-sell-to-street-art-collectors-i-want-to-sell-to-art/) [Ben Eine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-eine/) > [The collectors of revenue and the policeman are the only symbols by which millions in India's villages know British rule.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/the-collectors-of-revenue-and-the-policeman-are-the-only-symbols-by/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Like the collector, the photographer is animated by a passion that, even when it appears to be for the present, is linked to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/like-the-collector-the-photographer-is-animated-by-a-passion-that/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [Sometimes I am a collector of data, and only a collector, and am likely to be gross and miserly, piling up notes, pleased with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-fort/sometimes-i-am-a-collector-of-data-and-only-a-collector-and-am-likely/) [Charles Fort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-fort/) ## More by William Stafford > [People wander about what you are pursuing. You have to explain about the thread.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-stafford/people-wander-about-what-you-are-pursuing-you-have-to-explain-about/) [William Stafford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-stafford/) > [Anyone who breathes is in the rhythm business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-stafford/anyone-who-breathes-is-in-the-rhythm-business/) [William Stafford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-stafford/) > [I don't see writing as a communication of something already discovered, as "truths" already known. Rather, I see writing as a job of experiment.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-stafford/i-don-t-see-writing-as-a-communication-of-something-already/) [William Stafford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-stafford/) > [An owl sound wandered along the road with me. I didn't hear it--I breathed it into my ears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-stafford/an-owl-sound-wandered-along-the-road-with-me-i-didn-t-hear-it-i/) [William Stafford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-stafford/) > [The Way It Is There’s a thread you follow. It goes among things that change. But it doesn’t change. People wonder about what you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-stafford/the-way-it-is-there-s-a-thread-you-follow-it-goes-among-things-that/) [William Stafford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-stafford/) > [It's love,' they say. You touch the right one and a whole half of the universe wakes up, a new half.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-stafford/it-s-love-they-say-you-touch-the-right-one-and-a-whole-half-of-the/) [William Stafford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-stafford/) > [“We think it is calm here, or that our storm is the right size.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-stafford/we-think-it-is-calm-here-or-that-our-storm-is-the-right-size/) [William Stafford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-stafford/) > [“There may be losses too great to understand That rove after you and--faint and terrible-- rip unknown through your hand.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-stafford/there-may-be-losses-too-great-to-understand-that-rove-after-you-and/) [William Stafford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-stafford/) > [It is as if the ordinary language we use every day has a hidden set of signals, a kind of secret code.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-stafford/it-is-as-if-the-ordinary-language-we-use-every-day-has-a-hidden-set/) [William Stafford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-stafford/) > [My question is "when did other people give up the idea of being a poet?" You know, when we are kids we make up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-stafford/my-question-is-when-did-other-people-give-up-the-idea-of-being-a-poet/) [William Stafford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-stafford/) > [The things you do not have to say make you rich. Saying the things you do not have to say weakens your talk. Hearing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-stafford/the-things-you-do-not-have-to-say-make-you-rich-saying-the-things-you/) [William Stafford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-stafford/) > [“I am your own way of looking at things," she said. "When you allow me to live with you, every glance at the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-stafford/i-am-your-own-way-of-looking-at-things-she-said-when-you-allow-me-to/) [William Stafford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-stafford/) > [I heard a bird congratulating itself all day for being a jay. Nobody cared. But it was glad all over again, and said so,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-stafford/i-heard-a-bird-congratulating-itself-all-day-for-being-a-jay-nobody/) [William Stafford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-stafford/) > [The earth says have a place, be what that place requires; hear the sound the birds imply and see as deep as ridges go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-stafford/the-earth-says-have-a-place-be-what-that-place-requires-hear-the/) [William Stafford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-stafford/) > [You can lie at a banquet but you have to be honest in the kitchen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-stafford/you-can-lie-at-a-banquet-but-you-have-to-be-honest-in-the-kitchen/) [William Stafford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-stafford/) [Explore all 83 William Stafford quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-stafford/) ## More Butterfly quotes > [The beginning of love is all about the butterflies, but the end of it is when you can't get out of bed in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-swift/the-beginning-of-love-is-all-about-the-butterflies-but-the-end-of-it/) [Taylor Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-swift/) > [One day I decided I would like to put a record into my system. So I picked up a record that was lying on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-oliveros/one-day-i-decided-i-would-like-to-put-a-record-into-my-system-so-i/) [Pauline Oliveros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-oliveros/) > [A room full of words that are nearly the truth but not quite, each note fluttering off the steam of its rose like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/a-room-full-of-words-that-are-nearly-the-truth-but-not-quite-each/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [“Story is a butterfly whose wings transport us to another world where we receive gifts that change who we are and who we want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harley-king/story-is-a-butterfly-whose-wings-transport-us-to-another-world-where/) [Harley King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harley-king/) > [Do you remember how you felt at seventeen? I do and I don't (...) Imagine you came from outer space and someone showed you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/do-you-remember-how-you-felt-at-seventeen-i-do-and-i-don-t-imagine/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [Kill not the moth nor butterfly, For the Last Judgement draweth nigh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/kill-not-the-moth-nor-butterfly-for-the-last-judgement-draweth-nigh/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [Farewell,' she said. 'I hope you hear many more songs' - which was the best way she could think of to say good-bye to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-s-beagle/farewell-she-said-i-hope-you-hear-many-more-songs-which-was-the-best/) [Peter S. Beagle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-s-beagle/) > [Know thyself. A maxim as pernicious as it is ugly. Whoever studies himself arrest his own development. A caterpillar who seeks to know himself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/know-thyself-a-maxim-as-pernicious-as-it-is-ugly-whoever-studies/) [Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [When, within our souls and psyches we are made aware of a safe but insistent drum beat, repeated like butterfly wings in motion, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-meeker/when-within-our-souls-and-psyches-we-are-made-aware-of-a-safe-but/) [Mary Meeker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-meeker/) > [I just think about what I am doing on my side of the net, which requires focus. Even after all the years I've been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karch-kiraly/i-just-think-about-what-i-am-doing-on-my-side-of-the-net-which/) [Karch Kiraly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karch-kiraly/) > [My loneliness...still comes over me sometimes...It's a liminal, lost sensation of having wandered wide, endless boulevards, among rows of orange trees, winter butterflies, seasons…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-roth/my-loneliness-still-comes-over-me-sometimes-it-s-a-liminal-lost/) [Marco Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-roth/) > [I used to watch old clips of Muhammad Ali, where he'd be talking the jive during interviews, you know, 'Float like a butterfly, sting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-buffer/i-used-to-watch-old-clips-of-muhammad-ali-where-he-d-be-talking-the/) [Michael Buffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-buffer/) > [Pleasure's a Moth, that sleeps by day And dances by false glare at night; But Joy's a Butterfly, that loves To spread its wings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-davies/pleasure-s-a-moth-that-sleeps-by-day-and-dances-by-false-glare-at/) [W. H. Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-davies/) > [The air is like a butterfly With frail blue wings. The happy earth looks at the sky And sings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-kilmer/the-air-is-like-a-butterfly-with-frail-blue-wings-the-happy-earth/) [Joyce Kilmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-kilmer/) > [I only ask to be free. The butterflies are free. Mankind will surely not deny to Harold Skimpole what it concedes to the butterflies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-only-ask-to-be-free-the-butterflies-are-free-mankind-will-surely/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) [Browse all 1,033 Butterfly quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/butterfly/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I embrace emerging experience, I participate in discovery. I am a butterfly. I am not a butterfly collector. I want the experience of the butterfly.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William Stafford" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-stafford/i-embrace-emerging-experience-i-participate-in-discovery-i-am-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Butterfly" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-stafford/i-embrace-emerging-experience-i-participate-in-discovery-i-am-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e92/william-stafford-8165_butterfly_i-embrace-emerging-experience-i-particip_2052101.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e92/william-stafford-8165_butterfly_i-embrace-emerging-experience-i-particip_2052101.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e92/william-stafford-8165_butterfly_i-embrace-emerging-experience-i-particip_2052101.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I embrace emerging experience, I participate in discovery. I am a butterfly. I am not a butterfly collector…” — William Stafford", "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": "William Stafford", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-stafford/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I embrace emerging experience, I participate...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-stafford/i-embrace-emerging-experience-i-participate-in-discovery-i-am-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-stafford/i-embrace-emerging-experience-i-participate-in-discovery-i-am-a/#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 } } ] } ```