I want nothing less than a faith founded upon a rock, faith in the constitution of things. The various man-made creeds are fictitious, like the constellations Orion, Cassiopeia’s Chair, the Big Dipper; the only thing real in them is the stars, and the only thing real in the creeds is the soul’s aspiration toward the Infinite.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the importance of a deep, grounded faith in reality over superficial beliefs.
In this quote, John Burroughs argues that true faith should be based on a solid understanding of the universe, rather than on man-made beliefs which he views as shallow and fictitious. He suggests that while creeds may contain elements of truth, such as the yearning of the soul for something greater, they ultimately fall short of capturing the profound nature of existence and the infinite aspiration of humanity.
In practice
During a motivational speech, one could reference this quote to inspire belief in a greater purpose.
The very idea of a bird is a symbol and a suggestion to the poet. A bird seems to be at the top of the scale, so vehement and intense is his life, large-brained, large-lunged, hot, ecstatic, his frame charged with buoyancy and his heart with song.
Naturalists, like poets, are born and then made only by years of painstaking observation.
Every walk to the woods is a religious rite, every bath in the stream is a saving ordinance. Communion service is at all hours, and the bread and wine are from the heart and marrow of Mother Earth.
Next to the laborer in the fields, the walker holds the closest relation to the soil; and he holds a closer and more vital relation to nature because he is freer and his mind more at leisure.
Some of the animals outsee man, outsmell him, outhear him, outrun him, outswim him, because their lives depend more upon these special powers than his does; but he can outwit them all because he has the resourcefulness of reason and is at home in many different fields.
Unadulterated, unsweetened observations are what the real nature-lover craves. No man can invent incidents and traits as interesting as the reality.
Comfort and luxury are usually the chief requirements of life for your ego - its top priorities tend to be accumulations, achievements, and the approval of others.
Eventually everything connects - people, ideas, objects. The quality of the connections is the key to quality per se.
The true civilization is where every man gives to every other every right that he claims for himself.
We are our world knowing itself. We can relinquish our separateness. We can come home again - and participate in our world in a richer, more responsible and poignantly beautiful way than before, in our infancy.
Events are influenced by our very great desires.
They say that a kingdom is like a pyramid: the king on top and the people below. But in this country, it's upside down.
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