Married couples who quarrel bitterly every day may really need each other as deeply as those who appear to be desperately in love.
Edward AbbeyRead
Why this cult of wilderness?... because we like the taste of freedom; because we like the smell of danger.
Interpretation
The quote expresses a fascination with nature and the freedom it provides, coupled with the thrill that comes from facing risks in the wild.
Edward Abbey's quote reflects on the deep connection many people have with the wilderness, highlighting how the allure of freedom and the excitement of danger draw individuals to nature. It suggests that this passion for the wild is not just about escape, but also about embracing life's uncertainties and challenges that come with a deeper connection to the natural world.
In practice
During a presentation on environmental conservation, one might quote Abbey to emphasize the importance of preserving wilderness areas.
Married couples who quarrel bitterly every day may really need each other as deeply as those who appear to be desperately in love.
I love America because it is a confused, chaotic mess - and I hope we can keep it this way for at least another thousand years. The permissive society is the free society.
If it's knowledge and wisdom you want, then seek out the company of those who do real work for an honest purpose.
The earth is real. Only a fool, milking his cow, denies the cow's reality.
I believe in nothing that I cannot touch, kiss, embrace.... The rest is only hearsay.
Why can't we simply borrow what is useful to us from Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, especially Zen, as we borrow from Christianity, science, American Indian traditions and world literature in general, including philosophy, and let the rest go hang? Borrow what we need but rely principally upon our own senses, common sense and daily living experience.
It's spring fever. That is what the name of it is. And when you've got it, you wantβoh, you don't quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!
The Maldives, a string of islands off the coast of India whose highest point above sea level is eight feet, may be the first nation to drown. In Alaska, entire towns have begun to shift in the loosening permafrost.
The spring came suddenly, bursting upon the world as a child bursts into a room, with a laugh and a shout and hands full of flowers.
The grass as bristly and stout as chives and me wondering when the ground will break and me wondering how anything fragile survives
But the trees seemed to know me. They whispered among themselves and beckoned me nearer.
The creatures that inhabit this earth-be they human beings or animals-are here to contribute, each in its own particular way, to the beauty and prosperity of the world.
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