Wilderness to the people of America is a spiritual necessity, an antidote to the high pressure of modern life, a means of regaining serenity and equilibrium.
Sigurd F. OlsonRead
Beauty is composed of many things and never stands alone. It is part of horizons, blue in the distance, great primeval silences, knowledge of all things of the earth. It embodies the hopes and dreams of those who have gone before, including the spirit world; it is so fragile it can be destroyed by a sound or thought. It may be infinitesimally small or encompass the universe itself. It comes in a swift conception wherever nature has not been disturbed.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Beauty is a complex and fragile phenomenon that is interconnected with nature and human experience.
This quote by Sigurd F. Olson illustrates that beauty is not a solitary concept; instead, it arises from various elements and influences around us, from the vastness of nature to the memories of those who have come before us. It emphasizes the delicacy of beauty, suggesting that it can be easily lost or disrupted, and it highlights the profound interconnectedness of beauty with the world, human aspirations, and the environment.
Themes
BeautyNatureFragilityInterconnectednessHumansDreamsHorizons
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about environmental conservation, one might say, 'As Sigurd F. Olson wisely noted, beauty is a fragile entity shaped by nature.'
More from Sigurd F. Olson
All quotes →While we are born with curiosity and wonder and our early years full of the adventure they bring, I know such inherent joys are often lost. I also know that, being deep within us, their latent glow can be fanned to flame again by awareness and an open mind.
Sigurd F. OlsonRead
When a man is part of his canoe, he is part of all that canoes have ever known.
Sigurd F. OlsonRead
Simplicity in all things is the secret of the wilderness and one of its most valuable lessons
Sigurd F. OlsonRead
The way of a canoe is the way of the wilderness, and of a freedom almost forgotten.
Sigurd F. OlsonRead
One cannot run from a challenge without losing. To flee is signing a death warrant to dignity and character, and, having run, there is no return; one is a weakling forever. Meeting a challenge, though one may be defeated, gives strength, character, and a certain assurance that regardless of outcome, one will survive or go down fighting.
Sigurd F. OlsonRead
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Time in nature is not leisure time; it's an essential investment in our chidlren's health (and also, by the way, in our own).
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Meditate, oft. Separate thyself for a season from the cares of the world. Get close to nature and learn from the lowliest of that which manifests in nature, in the earth; in the birds, in the trees, in the grass, in the flowers, in the bees; that the life of each is a manifesting, is a song of glory to its Maker. And do thou likewise!
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If the world were to end tomorrow and we could choose to save only one thing as the explanation and memorial to who we were, then we couldn't do better than the Natural History Museum, although it wouldn't contain a single human. The systematic Linnean order, the vast inquisitiveness and range of collated knowledge and beauty would tell all that is the best of us.
A. A. GillRead