What I want in my life is to be willing to be dazzled
Meaning
In a poem written beside a pond at dawn, Oliver names her goal as openness to awe rather than achievement. You can practice by leaving your phone behind on a short walk and letting yourself be genuinely impressed by something small, like a bird or a cloud.
Source: House of Light (1990), "The Ponds"
About the author
Mary Oliver (1935–2019) was an American poet who won the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award. She is known for plainspoken nature poems that celebrate attention and wonder.
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