I don't believe there's anything cosmic or divine or morally superior about whales and dolphins or sharks or trees, but I do think that everything that lives is holy and somehow integrated; and on cloudy days I suspect that these extraordinary phenomena, and the hundreds of tiny, modest versions no one hears about, are an ocean, an earth, a Creator, something shaking us by the collar, demanding our attention, our fear, our vigilance, our respect, our help.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the intrinsic value of all living beings and our responsibility to respect and protect them.
Tim Winton reflects on the sanctity of life in all its forms, asserting that while he doesn’t see any inherent superiority in whales, dolphins, or trees, he acknowledges a profound connectedness among all living beings. He suggests a deeper awareness of their existence is essential, as they demand our attention and respect, urging us to recognize our role in preserving the delicate balance of life on Earth.
In practice
In a speech about environmental conservation, one could use this quote to emphasize the importance of protecting all forms of life.
When you're surfing you're not thinking about where you parked the car or what you're going to do when you grow up or what you're going to buy when you've got lots of money. You know, you're just there. You're in the moment. And I think in a contemporary world, that's a rare privilege.
I just sit here and tell the story as though I can't help it. There's always something in the day that reminds me, that sets me off all hot and guilty and scared and rambling and wistful, like I am now.
The night is full of stories. They float up like miasmas, as though the dead leave their dreams in the earth where you bury them, only to have them rise to meet you in sleep. Mostly the scenes are familiar, but sometimes everything is strange, the people unknown.
Hunting and gathering are in my blood. But I've lived long enough to witness a diminution in the seas, and to notice a fragility where once I saw - or assumed - an endless bounty.
I can enjoy society in a room; but out of doors, nature is company enough for me
Nature soaks every evil with either fear or shame.
A lot of people think they need to give up nature to become adults but that's not true. However, you have to be careful how you describe and define 'nature.'
When we have learned how to listen to trees, then the brevity and the quickness and the childlike hastiness of our thoughts achieve an incomparable joy. Whoever has learned how to listen to trees no longer wants to be a tree. He wants to be nothing except what he is. That is home. That is happiness.
Why this cult of wilderness?... because we like the taste of freedom; because we like the smell of danger.
Nature never appeals to intelligence until habit and instinct are useless. There is no intelligence where there is no need of change.
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