Emily Dickinson Quotes

On holding on to hope during a hard season:

Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul.

Emily Dickinson, Hope is the thing with feathers

On choosing an open future over a settled one:

I dwell in Possibility.

Emily Dickinson, I dwell in Possibility

On delivering hard news gently instead of bluntly:

Tell all the truth but tell it slant.

Emily Dickinson, Tell all the truth but tell it slant

On choosing meaningful work over impressive work:

If I can stop one heart from breaking, I shall not live in vain.

Emily Dickinson, If I can stop one heart from breaking

On appreciating a moment you know will not repeat:

That it will never come again is what makes life so sweet.

Emily Dickinson, That it will never come again

On staying open to a change you did not plan for:

The soul should always stand ajar, ready to welcome the ecstatic experience.

Emily Dickinson, The Soul should always stand ajar

On describing a life's work that resists a simple job title:

My Business is Circumference.

Emily Dickinson, Letter to Thomas Wentworth Higginson

On living through grief one day instead of all at once:

Forever is composed of nows.

Emily Dickinson, Forever is composed of Nows

Making peace with a mortality or diagnosis you cannot outrun:

Because I could not stop for Death, He kindly stopped for me.

Emily Dickinson, Because I could not stop for Death

Understanding the numbness that follows a fresh loss instead of fighting it:

After great pain, a formal feeling comes, the Nerves sit ceremonious, like Tombs.

Emily Dickinson, After great pain, a formal feeling comes

Comparing your grief to others' losses before deciding it's valid:

I measure every Grief I meet with narrow, probing eyes.

Emily Dickinson, I measure every Grief I meet

Deciding to narrow your circle down to the few people who actually matter:

The Soul selects her own Society, then shuts the Door.

Emily Dickinson, The Soul selects her own Society

Weighing whether a goodbye was worth the love that preceded it:

Parting is all we know of heaven, and all we need of hell.

Emily Dickinson, My life closed twice before its close

Staying open to opportunity when you can't predict which door leads anywhere:

Not knowing when the Dawn will come, I open every Door.

Emily Dickinson, Not knowing when the Dawn will come

Deciding whether to chase visibility or embrace an anonymous, private life:

I'm Nobody! Who are you? Are you Nobody too?

Emily Dickinson, I'm Nobody! Who are you?