To lose a passport was the least of one’s worries. To lose a notebook was a catastrophe.
Bruce ChatwinRead
Even today, when an Aboriginal mother notices the first stirrings of speech in her child, she lets it handle the "things" of that particular country: leaves, fruit, insects and so forth. "We give our children guns and computer games," Wendy said. "They gave their children the land."
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote contrasts the nurturing practices of Aboriginal cultures with modern Western practices, highlighting the importance of connection to nature in child development.
In this quote, Bruce Chatwin reflects on the differing ways in which Aboriginal mothers and modern societies approach the upbringing of their children. While Aboriginal mothers allow their children to interact with the natural world, equipping them with a deep-rooted understanding of their environment, modern parents often provide technological distractions. This stark contrast emphasizes the value of cultural heritage and the lessons nature imparts, suggesting that fostering a relationship with the land is as crucial as teaching modern skills.
Themes
NatureChildrenEducationCultureUpbringingAboriginal
In practice
Example use cases
In a workshop on parenting, this quote can be used to spark discussions about different parenting styles.
More from Bruce Chatwin
All quotes →The history of Buenos Aires is written in its telephone directory. Pompey Romanov, Emilio Rommel, Crespina D. Z. de Rose, Ladislao Radziwil, and Elizabeta Marta Callman de Rothschild - five names taken at random from among the R's - told a story of exile, desolation, disillusion, and anxiety behind lace curtains.
Bruce ChatwinRead
When people start talking of man's inhumanity to man it means they haven't actually walked far enough.
Bruce ChatwinRead
Sluggish and sedentary peoples, such as the Ancient Egyptians-- with their concept of an afterlife journey through the Field of Reeds-- project on to the next world the journeys they failed to make in this one.
Bruce ChatwinRead
I pictured a low timber house with a shingled roof, caulked against storms, with blazing log fires inside and the walls lined with all the best books, somewhere to live when the rest of the world blew up.
Bruce ChatwinRead
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