Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wildness is a necessity.
John MuirRead
The world is big and I want to have a good look at it before it gets dark.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Life is precious and time is limited, encouraging exploration and appreciation of the world.
John Muir's quote reflects a desire to experience and appreciate the vastness and beauty of the world before it is too late. It serves as a reminder that life has an end, and we should make the most of our time by exploring nature and learning about the world around us.
Themes
ExplorationNatureLifeAppreciationTime
In practice
Example use cases
Opening a nature documentary with this quote to set the tone for exploration.
More from John Muir
All quotes βWhen we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe.
John MuirRead
As long as I live, I'll hear waterfalls and birds and winds sing. I'll interpret the rocks, learn the language of flood, storm, and the avalanche. I'll acquaint myself with the glaciers and wild gardens, and get as near the heart of the world as I can".
John MuirRead
The forests of America, however slighted by man, must have been a great delight to God; for they were the best he ever planted. The whole continent was a garden, and from the beginning, it seemed to be favored above all the other wild parks and gardens of the globe.
John MuirRead
From the dust of the earth, from the common elementary fund, the Creator has made Homo sapiens. From the same material he has made every other creature, however noxious and insignificant to us. They are earth-born companions and our fellow mortals.
John MuirRead
...full of God's thoughts, a place of peace and safety amid the most exalted grandeur and enthusiastic action, a new song, a place of beginnings abounding in first lessons of life, mountain building, eternal, invincible, unbreakable order; with sermons in stone, storms, trees, flowers, and animals brimful with humanity.
John MuirRead
Similar quotes
I go among trees and sit still. All my stirring becomes quiet around me like circles on water. My tasks lie in their places where I left them, asleep like cattle... Then what I am afraid of comes. I live for a while in its sight. _x000D_ What I fear in it leaves it, And the fear of it leaves me. It sings, and I hear its song.
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I think part of the appeal of Antarctica is experiencing some sort of power, the forces of the natural world.
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Wan February with weeping cheer,_x000D_ _x000D_ Whose cold hand guides the youngling year_x000D_ _x000D_ Down misty roads of mire and rime,_x000D_ _x000D_ Before thy pale and fitful face_x000D_ _x000D_ The shrill wind shifts the clouds apace_x000D_ _x000D_ Through skies the morning scarce may climb._x000D_ _x000D_ Thine eyes are thick with heavy tears,_x000D_ _x000D_ But lit with hopes that light the year's.
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The Everglades is a test. If we pass it, we may get to keep the planet.
Marjory Stoneman DouglasRead
To be a friend of the Everglades is not necessarily to spend time wandering around out there.
Marjory Stoneman DouglasRead
Human beings grew up in forests; we have a natural affinity for them. How lovely a tree is, straining toward the sky.
Carl SaganRead