Don't just live the length of your life - live the width of it as well.
Diane AckermanRead
...for most people in the [Jewish] Ghetto [of Warsaw] nature lived only in memory -- no parks, birds, or greenery existed in the Ghetto -- and they suffered the loss of nature like a phantom-limb pain, an amputation that scrambled the body's rhythms, starved the senses, and made basic ideas about the world impossible for children to fathom.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote highlights the deep emotional and psychological impact of losing connection with nature, particularly for those living in restrictive, harsh environments.
Diane Ackerman's quote vividly illustrates the profound loss experienced by individuals in the Warsaw Ghetto, where the absence of nature led to a disconnection from vital aspects of life and perception. It compares this loss to phantom-limb pain, emphasizing how the deprivation of natural surroundings disrupted daily life, affected senses, and left lasting scars on the understanding of the world, particularly for children who lacked the opportunity to experience the natural beauty that contributes to human well-being.
Themes
LossNatureGhettoMemoriesSensesChildren
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech about resilience, one might invoke this quote to illustrate the importance of nature in our lives.
More from Diane Ackerman
All quotes →We try to exile ourselves more and more from nature - not always consciously: We build houses; we dismiss nature; nature has to be outside, because we're inside. God forbid something like a cockroach comes inside, or some dust.
Diane AckermanRead
We ogle plants and animals up close on television, the Internet and in the movies. We may not worship the animals we see, but we still regard them as necessary physical and spiritual companions. Technological nature can't completely satisfy that yearning.
Diane AckermanRead
Because IQ tests favor memory skills and logic, overlooking artistic creativity, insight, resiliency, emotional reserves, sensory gifts, and life experience, they can't really predict success, let alone satisfaction.
Diane AckermanRead
American writer_x000D_ _x000D_ 1803-1882_x000D_ _x000D_ Play is our brain's favorite way of learning.
Diane AckermanRead
In rare moments of deep play, we can lay aside our sense of self, shed time's continuum, ignore pain, and sit quietly in the absolute present, watching the world's ordinary miracles. No mind or heart hobbles. No analyzing or explaining. No questing for logic. No promises. No goals. No relationships. No worry. One is completely open to whatever drama may unfold.
Diane AckermanRead
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