Mary Oliver Quotes

Character - Some day, you will be wrestling with the great temptation, or trembling under the great sorrow of your life. But the real struggle is here, now, in these quiet weeks. Now it is being decided whether, in the day of your supreme sorrow or temptation, you shall miserably fail or gloriously conquer. Character cannot be made except by a steady, long-continued process.

Why does life keep teaching me lessons I have no desire to learn?

It's not the tragedies that kill us; it's the messes.

The art of living lies less in eliminating our troubles than in growing with them.

Recovery isn’t easy, at first. It takes time. It takes more work, sometimes, than you think you’re willing to do. But it is worth every hard day, every tear, every terrified moment. It’s worth it, because the trade-off is this: you let go of your eating disorder, and you get back your life.

Sometimes life has a way of putting us on our backs to force us to look up.

One who gains strength by overcoming obstacles possesses the only strength which can overcome adversity.

Life's challenges are not supposed to paralyze you, they're supposed to help you discover who you are.

The best people I know have had a lot of obstacles to overcome.

I might have to stumble a little bit more in public than others, but that's fine, I don't mind, I've developed a thick skin.

Everyone is handed adversity in life. No one's journey is easy. It's how they handle it that makes people unique.

I really believe in the old expression that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. It's through adversity that you find the strength you never knew you had.

In my life I had no other choice than to become a strong person.

Surmounting difficulty is the crucible that forms character.

As we advance in life it becomes more and more difficult, but in fighting the difficulties the inmost strength of the heart is developed.

Everything's the same; I'm living with cancer and it's not going to stop me. But until you really test yourself and challenge yourself, I don't think you quite know.

I overcame a lot of obstacles in my life and in my childhood.

There's moments where I want to break down and cry, but not give up.

I exhort you also to take part in the great combat, which is the combat of life, and greater than every other earthly conflict.

Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome.

Some struggle is healthy. If you can embrace it rather than be angry, you can use it as your pilot light.

I've had to learn to fight all my life - got to learn to keep smiling. If you smile things will work out.

Little minds are tamed and subdued by misfortune; but great minds rise above it.

When you go through heartbreak, you just do the things that get you by. Eventually, you realise it's about making the most of life.

Everybody has their struggles.