I know Great Spirit is looking down upon me from above, and will hear what I say.
Sitting BullRead
Strangely enough, they have a mind to till the soil, and the love of possessions is a disease in them.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote highlights the contrast between simple living and materialism.
Sitting Bull reflects on the nature of humanity, suggesting that while people have the innate desire to cultivate and nurture their surroundings, they are often afflicted by an unhealthy attachment to material possessions, which can be seen as a societal disease. This observation invites contemplation on the balance between the appreciation of the earth and an overemphasis on ownership and wealth.
Themes
MaterialismSimplicityNatureCultivationPossessions
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be shared in a discussion on minimalism and living simply.
More from Sitting Bull
All quotes βI want to tell you that if the Great Spirit had chosen anyone to be the chief of this country, it is myself.
Sitting BullRead
Is it wrong for me to love my own? Is it wicked for me because my skin is red? Because I am Sioux? Because I was born where my father lived? Because I would die for my people and my country?
Sitting BullRead
When I was a boy, the Sioux owned the world. The sun rose and set on their land; they sent ten thousand men to battle. Where are the warriors today? Who slew them? Where are our lands? Who owns them?
Sitting BullRead
Therefore, I do not wish to consider any proposition to cede any portion of our tribal holdings to the Great Father.
Sitting BullRead
I wish it to be remembered that I was the last man of my tribe to surrender my rifle.
Sitting BullRead
Similar quotes
When the body sinks into death, the essence of man is revealed. Man is a knot, a web, a mesh into which relationships are tied. Only those relationships matter. The body is an old crock that nobody will miss. I have never known a man to think of himself when dying. Never.
Antoine De Saint-ExuperyRead
Power invariably elects to go into the hands of the strong. That strength may be physical or of the heart or, if we do not fight shy of the word, of the spirit. Strength of the heart connotes soul-force. Let it be remembered that physical force is transitory, even as the body is transitory. But the power of spirit is permanent even as the spirit is everlasting.
Mahatma GandhiRead
I would like to see anyone, prophet, king or God, convince a thousand cats to do the same thing at the same time.
Neil GaimanRead
Sometimes it is said that man cannot be trusted with the government of himself. Can he, then be trusted with the government of others? Or have we found angels in the form of kings to govern him? Let history answer this question.
Thomas JeffersonRead
The very essence of instinct is that it's followed independently of reason.
Charles DarwinRead
We are so afraid of the idea of having to die... that we always try to find excuses for the dead, as if we were asking beforehand to be excused when it is our turn.
Jose SaramagoRead