The truth of the matter is, the birds could very well live without us, but many -- perhaps all -- of us would find life incomplete, indeed almost intolerable without the birds.
Interpretation
Birds enrich our lives, even though they do not depend on us for survival.
This quote reflects the deep intrinsic connection between humans and birds, emphasizing how birds enhance our existence and aesthetic experience of nature. While birds thrive in their own right, humans often feel a sense of incompleteness without their presence, highlighting the importance of nature in our lives.
In practice
During a speech on conservation at the local environmental meeting.
Birds ... are sensitive indicators of the environment, a sort of "ecological litmus paper," ... The observation and recording of bird populations over time lead inevitably to environmental awareness and can signal impending changes.
Birds are indicators of the environment. If they are in trouble, we know we'll soon be in trouble.
The philosophy that I have worked under most of my life is that the serious study of natural history is an activity which has far-reaching effects in every aspect of a person's life. It ultimately makes people protective of the environment in a very committed way. It is my opinion that the study of natural history should be the primary avenue for creating environmentalists.
Birding, after all, is just a game. Going beyond that is what is important.
The truth is, natural organisms have managed to do everything we want to do without guzzling fossil fuels, polluting the planet or mortgaging the future.
During all these years there existed within me a tendency to follow Nature in her walks.
When we retire from the conventions of society and draw close to nature, we involuntarily become children: each attribute acquired by experience falls away from the soul, which becomes anew such as it was once and will surely be again.
Green was the silence, wet was the light, the month of June trembled like a butterfly.
How beautifully everything is arranged by Nature; as soon as a child enters the world, it finds a mother ready to take care of it.
There must be something strangely sacred about salt. It is in our tears and in the sea.
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