Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wildness is a necessity.
John MuirRead
When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote suggests that everything in the universe is interconnected, and nothing exists in isolation.
John Muir's quote emphasizes the interconnectedness of all things in the universe. When we examine any single element, we inevitably discover its relationships and dependencies on countless other elements, illustrating the complexity and unity of nature. This idea encourages a holistic view of the world, reminding us that our actions and observations are part of a larger tapestry of existence.
Themes
InterconnectednessNatureUniverseRelationshipsHolism
In practice
Example use cases
In a class discussion about ecology, this quote can be used to illustrate the importance of understanding environmental impacts.
More from John Muir
All quotes →As long as I live, I'll hear waterfalls and birds and winds sing. I'll interpret the rocks, learn the language of flood, storm, and the avalanche. I'll acquaint myself with the glaciers and wild gardens, and get as near the heart of the world as I can".
John MuirRead
The forests of America, however slighted by man, must have been a great delight to God; for they were the best he ever planted. The whole continent was a garden, and from the beginning, it seemed to be favored above all the other wild parks and gardens of the globe.
John MuirRead
From the dust of the earth, from the common elementary fund, the Creator has made Homo sapiens. From the same material he has made every other creature, however noxious and insignificant to us. They are earth-born companions and our fellow mortals.
John MuirRead
...full of God's thoughts, a place of peace and safety amid the most exalted grandeur and enthusiastic action, a new song, a place of beginnings abounding in first lessons of life, mountain building, eternal, invincible, unbreakable order; with sermons in stone, storms, trees, flowers, and animals brimful with humanity.
John MuirRead
When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world.
John MuirRead
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