We're in a giant car heading towards a brick wall and everyone's arguing over where they're going to sit.
I've always been more interested in organisms that can move on their own than in stationary plants. But when I canoe or hike along the edge of lakes or oceans and see trees that seem to be growing out of rock faces, I am blown away. How do they do it?
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects a fascination with life forms that demonstrate resilience and adaptability in harsh conditions.
David Suzuki expresses a deep appreciation for living organisms, particularly those that can thrive in challenging environments. While he is captivated by mobile life forms, he finds an extraordinary beauty in trees growing from rocky surfaces, which showcases nature's ability to endure and flourish despite adversity. This perspective highlights the wonder of life's diversity and the remarkable strategies different organisms employ to survive.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a nature conservation speech to emphasize the resilience of lifeforms in tough environments.
More from David Suzuki
All quotes →As parents, grandparents, uncles and aunts we need to start getting out into nature with the young people in our lives. Families play a key role in getting kids outside.
One of the joys of being a grandparent is getting to see the world again through the eyes of a child.
The medical literature tells us that the most effective ways to reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes, Alzheimer's, and many more problems are through healthy diet and exercise. Our bodies have evolved to move, yet we now use the energy in oil instead of muscles to do our work.
Do you know how much land is under ice, rock and snow? Do you know why 90 percent of us live within 100 kilometres of the U.S. border? We have this idea we're a vast country. But the reality is that a lot of it, a huge amount, is uninhabitable.
We no longer see the world as a single entity. We've moved to cities and we think the economy is what gives us our life, that if the economy is strong we can afford garbage collection and sewage disposal and fresh food and water and electricity. We go through life thinking that money is the key to having whatever we want, without regard to what it does to the rest of the world.
Similar quotes
The preciousness of life and the changes of weather and the beauty of seasons - all those things have always sort of dazzled me.
I was at Earth Summit in Rio 20 years ago... I was only 12 years old. And when I was speaking to the U.N. I was fighting for my future.
The world is too much with us; late and soon, Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers: Little we see in Nature that is ours; We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon! The Sea that bares her bosom to the moon; The winds that will be howling at all hours, And are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers; For this, for everything, we are out of tune.
I must go down to the sea again For the call of the running tide It's a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied.
A tree is a wonderful living organism which gives shelter, food, warmth and protection to all living things. It even gives shade to those who wield an axe to cut it down
Atmosphere is a silent music. It has its effect upon the listener, exciting or peaceful, whatever it may be.