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Mr. Shepherd, Ye Cannot Stop A Bad Thought From Coming Into Your Head. But Ye Need Not Pull Up A Chair And Bide It Sit Down." - Mrs. Brown
-Barbara Kingsolver
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Mr. Shepherd, Ye Cannot

Barbara Kingsolver
...
Mr. Shepherd, Ye Cannot Stop A Bad Thought From Coming Into Your Head. But Ye Need Not Pull Up A Chair And Bide It Sit Down." - Mrs. Brown

Understanding the Quote: "mr. shepherd, ye cannot stop a bad thought from coming into your..."

This quote by Barbara Kingsolver reflects deeply on the theme of shepherds. It connects to the universal human journey of purpose, motivation, and reflection. Often categorized under Shepherds, Needs, Pull Ups, the quote offers insight, emotional clarity, and intellectual inspiration to readers worldwide.

Whether you’re a student exploring new ideas, a leader trying to motivate your team, or someone seeking direction in life — this quote provides value. It resonates because it’s more than words — it’s a bridge between experience and wisdom. It shows how Barbara Kingsolver interprets life's core challenges and triumphs.

Lessons From the Quote

This quote teaches resilience and focus. It reminds readers that no matter where they stand in life, reflection and self-awareness lead to growth. Each word has meaning, and when studied, it becomes clear how impactful thoughtful language can be.

About Barbara Kingsolver

Barbara Kingsolver is celebrated for insightful thoughts on shepherds and needs. Their legacy lives on through writings that guide, comfort, and inspire. Discover more on their profile page.

Actionable Takeaways

  • Reflect on how this quote applies to your current life path.
  • Share the message with someone who needs inspiration.
  • Write your thoughts on this quote in a journal or blog post.
  • Use it as a daily affirmation or reminder.

Closing Thoughts

Quotes like this endure because they capture universal truths. They comfort us in solitude and empower us in groups. Carry this quote forward — live by its wisdom, share its message, and keep its essence alive.

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Topic
Shepherds
Needs
Pull Ups
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Dresses
Ifs
God, Why Does A Mortal Man Have Children? It Is Senseless To Love Anything This Much.
Children
Men
Doe
For Time And Eternity There Have Been Fathers Like Nathan Who Simply Can See No Way To Have A Daughter But To Own Her Like A Plot Of Land. To Work Her, Plow Her Under, Rain Down A Dreadful Poison Upon Her. Miraculously, It Causes These Girls To Grow. They Elongate On The Pale Slender Stalks Of Their Longing, Like Sunflowers With Heavy Heads. You Can Shield Them With Your Body And Soul, Trying To Absorb That Awful Rain, But They'll Still Move Toward Him. Without Cease They'll Bend To His Light.
Girl
Daughter
Father
You Can Curse The Dead Or Pray For Them, But Don't Expect Them To Do A Thing For You. They're Far Too Interested In Watching Us, To See What In Heaven's Name We Will Do Next.
Names
Heaven
Next
But Children Robbed Of Love Will Dwell On Magic.
Children
Magic
You See Mother, You Had No Life Of Your Own. They Have No Idea. One Has Only A Life Of One's Own.
Mother
Ideas
No Idea
Households That Have Lost The Soul Of Cooking From Their Routines May Not Know What They Are Missing: The Song Of A Stir-fry Sizzle, The Small Talk Of Clinking Measuring Spoons, The Yeasty Scent Of Rising Dough, The Painting Of Flavors Onto A Pizza Before It Slides Into The Oven.
Song
Animal
Vegetables
Mistakes Wreck Your Life. But They Make What You Have. It's Kind Of All One. You Know What Hester Told Me When We Were Working The Sheep One Time? She Said It's No Good To Complain About Your Flock, Because It's The Put-together Of All Your Past Choices.
Mistake
Past
Sheep
He Warned Mother Not To Flout God's Will By Expecting Too Much Of Us. "sending A Girl To College Is Like Pouring Water In Your Shoes,' He Still Loves To Say, As Often As Possible. 'it's Hard To Say Which Is Worse, Seeing It Run Out And Waste The Water, Or Seeing It Hold In And Wreck The Shoes.
Girl
Mother
Running
The Things I Carry Closest To My Heart Are Things I Can't Own.
Heart
My Heart
Closest
Don't Try To Figure Out What Other People Want To Hear From You; Figure Out What You Have To Say.
Writing
Creativity
People
There's Such A Gulf Between Yourself And Who You Were Then, But People Speak To That Other Person And It Answers; It's Like Having A Stranger As A House Guest In Your Skin.
People
House
Skins
That Was When We Smelled The Rain. It Was So Strong It Seemed Like More Than Just A Smell. When We Stretched Out Our Hands We Could Practically Feel It Rising Up From The Ground. I Don’t Know How A Person Could Ever Describe That Scent.
Strong
Rain
Hands
Nine-tenths Of Human Law Is About Possession.
Law
Nine
Possession
Everything Truly Important Is Washable.
Important
Housework
Will You Explain To Me Why People Encourage Delusional Behaviour In Children, And Medicate It In Adults?
Children
People
Adults
Like Daniel She Enteres The Lions' Den, But Lacking Daniel's Pure And Unblemished Soul, Ada Is Spiced With The Flavors Of Vice That Make For A Tasty Meal. Pure And Unblemished Souls Must Taste Very Bland, With An Aftertaste Of Bitterness.
Soul
Vices
Meals
Prayer Had Always Struck Me As More Or Less A Glorified Attempt At A Business Transaction.
Prayer
Transactions
I Don't Look Like Who I Am.
Who I Am
Looks
...our Best Task Is To Move Forward Without Insisting Others Slide Backward.
Moving
Tasks
Slides
I've Never Gotten Over High School, To The Extent That I'm Still A Little Surprised That My Friends Want To Hang Out With Me.
School
Want
Littles
A Wife Is The Earth Itself, Changing Hands, Bearing Scars.
Hands
Wife
Earth
The Wrong Words Are Impossible When There Are No Words.
Impossible
Wrong Words
Libraries Are The One American Institution You Shouldn't Rip Off.
Rip
Book
Library
There Were Two Things About Mama. One Is She Always Expected The Best Out Of Me. And The Other Is That Then No Matter What I Did, Whatever I Came Home With, She Acted Like It Was The Moon I Had Just Hung Up In The Sky And Plugged In All The Stars. Like I Was That Good.
Stars
Home
Moon
Every Life Is Different Because You Passed This Way And Touched History... Listen Being Dead Is Not Worse Than Being Alive. It Is Different Though. You Could Say The View Is Larger.
Views
Different
Alive
Maybe Life Doesn't Get Any Better Than This, Or Any Worse, And What We Get Is Just What We're Willing To Find: Small Wonders, Where They Grow.
Wonder
Grows
Willing
Our House Is Like An Empty Cigarette Packet, Lying Around Reminding You What's Not In It.
Lying
House
Empty
Most People No Longer Believe That Buying Sneakers Made In Asian Sweatshops Is A Kindness To Those Child Laborers. Farming Is Similar. In Every Country On Earth, The Most Human Scenario For Farmers Is Likely To Be Feeding Those Who Live Nearby-if International Markets Would Allow Them To Do It. Food Transport Has Become A Bizarre And Profitable Economic Equation That's No Longer Really About Feeding Anyone ... If You Care About Farmers, Let The Potatoes Stay Home.
Country
Children
Kindness
In The Long Run, Most Of Us Spend About Fifteen Minutes Total In The Entanglements Of Passion, And The Rest Of Our Days Looking Back On It, Humming The Tune.
Running
Passion
Long
Illusions Mistaken For Truth Are The Pavement Under Our Feet. They Are What We Call Civilization.
Civilization
Feet
Pavement
I Learned To Write By Reading The Kind Of Books I Wished I'd Written.
Book
Reading
Writing
I Love Developing Children As Characters. Children Rarely Have Important Roles In Literary Fiction - They Are Usually Defined As Cute Or Precious, Or They Create A Plot By Being Kidnapped Or Dying.
Cute
Children
Character
Why Does A Person Even Get Up In The Morning? You Have Breakfast, You Floss Your Teeth So You'll Have Healthy Gums In Your Old Age, And Then You Get In Your Car And Drive Down I-10 And Die. Life Is So Stupid I Can't Stand It.
Morning
Stupid
Car
A Choir Of Seedlings Arching Their Necks Out Of Rotted Tree Stumps, Sucking Life Out Of Death. I Am The Forest's Conscience, But Remember, The Forest Eats Itself And Lives Forever.
Tree
Forever
Forests
Downstream Is Always Someone Else's Up.
A Miscarriage Is A Natural And Common Event. All Told, Probably More Women Have Lost A Child From This World Than Haven't. Most Don't Mention It, And They Go On From Day To Day As If It Hadn't Happened, So People Imagine A Woman In This Situation Never Really Knew Or Loved What She Had. But Ask Her Sometime: How Old Would Your Child Be Now? And She'll Know.
Love
Children
Miscarriage
There's Always More To A Story Than A Body Can See From The Fenceline.
Stories
Body
Few People Know So Clearly What They Want. Most People Can't Even Think What To Hope For When They Throw A Penny In A Fountain.
Thinking
People
Want
In A World As Wrong As This One, All We Can Do Is Make Things As Right As We Can.
Life
World
Can Do
Root Out All The "to Be" Verbs In Your Prose And Bludgeon Them Until Dead. No "it Was" Or "they Are" Or "i Am." Don't Let It Be, Make It Happen.
Roots
Verbs
Prose
Everyone Should Get Dirt On His Hands Each Day. Doctors, Intellectuals. Politicians, Most Of All. How Can We Presume To Uplift The Life Of The Working Man, If We Don't Respect His Work?
Uplifting
Men
Doctors
Wherever I Am, Let Me Never Forget To Distinguish Want From Need
Needs
Charity
Want
The Artist Deals With What Cannot Be Said In Words. The Novelist Says In Words What Cannot Be Said In Words.
Writing
Artist
Novelists
If It's Important, Your Heart Remembers.
Heart
Important
Remember
Back Then I Was Still Appalled That God Would Set Down His Barefoot Boy And Girl Dollies Into An Eden Where, Presumably, He Had Just Turned Loose Elephantiasis And Microes That Eat The Human Cornea. Now I Understand, God Is Not Just Rooting Fo The Dollies.
Girl
Boys
Eden
The Loudest Sound On Earth, She Thought, Is A Man With Nothing To Do.
Men
Sound
Earth
Americans Who Read And Think Are Patriots Of The First Order. The Kind Who Know Enough To Roll Their Eyes Whenever Anyone Tries To Claim Sole Custody Of The Flag And Weild It As A Blunt Instrument. There Are As Many Ways To Love America As There Are Americans, And Our Country Needs Us All.
Country
Eye
Thinking
People Ask Without Wanting To Know.
People
Knows
Asks
Food Culture In The United States Has Long Been Cast As The Property Of A Privileged Class. It Is Nothing Of The Kind. Culture Is The Property Of A Species.
Animal
Vegetables
Food Culture
You Don't Think You'll Live Past It And You Don't Really. The Person You Were Is Gone. But The Half Of You That's Still Alive Wakes Up One Day And Takes Over Again.
Grief
Past
Thinking
It's As If Cats Live In A Seperate Universe That Takes Up The Same Space As Ours, But Is Full Of Facinating Things Like Mice Or Sparrows Or Special Tv Programs That We Can't See.
Cat
Space
Special
Loose Lips Sink Ships.
Ships
Lips
He Needs To Go Rub His Soul Against Life.
Soul
Needs
Most Of The Girls My Age, Or Even Younger, Have Babies. They Appear Way Too Young To Be Married, Till You Look In Their Eyes. Then You'll See It. Their Eyes Look Happy And Sad At The Same Time, But Unexcited By Anything, Shifting Easily Off To The Side As If They've Already Seen Most Of What There Is. Married Eyes.
Girl
Baby
Eye
Maybe He's Been In Africa So Long He Has Forgotten That We Christians Have Our Own System Of Marriage, And It Is Called Monotony.
Christian
Long
Forgotten
A Good Title Holds Magic, Some Cognitive Dissonance, A Little Grit Between The Teeth, But Above All It Is The Jumping-off Place Into Wonder.
Book
Jumping
Magic
Terms Like That, 'humane Society,' Are Devised With People Like Me In Mind, Who Don't Care To Dwell On What Happens To The Innocent.
Animal
People
House
Awareness Is Everything. Hallie Once Pointed Out To Me That People Worry A Lot More About The Eternity *after* Their Deaths Than The Eternity That Happened Before They Were Born. But It's The Same Amount Of Infinity, Rolling Out In All Directions From Where We Stand.
People
Worry
Infinity
A Flower Is Your Cousin...sometimes A Person Has Got To Take A Life, Like A Chicken's Or A Hog's When You Need It...but Nobody Is So Hungry They Need To Kill A Flower. Cherokee Great-grandmother
Cousin
Flower
Grandmother
Poor Congo, Barefoot Bride Of Men Who Took Her Jewels And Promised The Kingdom.
Men
Jewels
Kingdoms
There Must Be Limits, Somewhere, To The Human Footprint On This Earth. When The Whole Of The World Is Reduced To Nothing But Human Product, We Will Have Lost The Map That Can Show Us How We Got Here, And Can Offer Our Spirits An Answer When We Ask Why. Surely We Are Capable Of Declaring Sacred Some Quarters That We Dare Not Enter Or Possess.
Environmental
Earth
Sacred
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