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I never met a man who was shaken by a field of identical blades of grass. An acre of poppies and a forest of spruce boggle no one's mind.
Annie Dillard
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Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote reflects on the commonality of nature's beauty and the human inability to be troubled by it.

Annie Dillard's quote suggests that the vastness and uniformity found in nature, such as in fields of grass or forests, often do not provoke deep thought or disturbance in people's minds. Instead, it highlights how we may overlook the unique intricacies and beauty of the natural world simply because we are surrounded by it, indicating a broader commentary on human perception and appreciation of nature.

Themes

NatureBeautyPerceptionGrassPoppiesForest

In practice

Example use cases

This quote can be used during a nature walk to emphasize the beauty we often overlook.

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To crank myself up I stood on a jack and ran myself up. I tightened myself like a bolt. I inserted myself in a vise-clamp and wound the handle till the pressure built. I drank coffee in titrated doses. It was a tricky business, requiring the finely tuned judgment of a skilled anesthesiologist. There was a tiny range within which coffee was effective, short of which it was useless, and beyond which, fatal.
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