Married couples who quarrel bitterly every day may really need each other as deeply as those who appear to be desperately in love.
Edward AbbeyRead
Saving the world was merely a hobby. My *vocation* has been that of_x000D_ inspector of desert water holes.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects on the distinction between grand ambitions and the simple, often overlooked work that truly sustains life.
In this quote, Edward Abbey expresses a nuanced perspective on the value of seemingly mundane tasks compared to lofty pursuits. While 'saving the world' may sound noble, Abbey finds deeper fulfillment in his work as an inspector of desert water holes, which emphasizes the importance of practical contributions to our environment and communities that often go unnoticed in the grand narrative of heroism.
Themes
SustainabilityEnvironmentPracticalityServiceCommunity
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech about community service, one might say, 'As Edward Abbey wisely pointed out, saving the world was merely a hobby; let's focus on our local projects that truly make a difference.'
More from Edward Abbey
All quotes βI love America because it is a confused, chaotic mess - and I hope we can keep it this way for at least another thousand years. The permissive society is the free society.
Edward AbbeyRead
If it's knowledge and wisdom you want, then seek out the company of those who do real work for an honest purpose.
Edward AbbeyRead
The earth is real. Only a fool, milking his cow, denies the cow's reality.
Edward AbbeyRead
I believe in nothing that I cannot touch, kiss, embrace.... The rest is only hearsay.
Edward AbbeyRead
Why can't we simply borrow what is useful to us from Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, especially Zen, as we borrow from Christianity, science, American Indian traditions and world literature in general, including philosophy, and let the rest go hang? Borrow what we need but rely principally upon our own senses, common sense and daily living experience.
Edward AbbeyRead
Similar quotes
The first step toward tolerance is respect and the first step toward respect is knowledge.
Henry Louis GatesRead
This uneasiness comes over me from time to time, and I feel as if I've somehow been pieced together from two different puzzles.
Haruki MurakamiRead
No system of religion should go in partnership with barbarism. Neither should any Christian feel it his duty to defend the savagery of the past.
Robert Green IngersollRead
The club that kills can drive a stake into the ground to hold a shelter. The hands that build bombs can be used to build schools. The minds that coordinate the activities of violence can coordinate the activities of cooperation. When the activities of life are infused with reverence, they come alive with meaning and purpose.
Gary ZukavRead
To be sure, those who are actually engaged in combat - those who actually see the maimed bodies and mourning mothers - struggle more than the rest of us to make sense of the reality of war.
Stanley HauerwasRead
I wonder that we Americans love our country at all, it having no limits and no oneness; and when you try to make it a matter of the heart, everything falls away except one's native State; -neither can you seize hold of that, unless you tear it out of the Union, bleeding and quivering.
Nathaniel HawthorneRead