Each day, and the living of it, has to be a conscious creation in which discipline and order are relieved with some play and pure foolishness.
May SartonRead
I would like to believe when I die that I have given myself away like a tree that sows seed every spring and never counts the loss, because it is not loss, it is adding to future life. It is the tree's way of being. Strongly rooted perhaps, but spilling out its treasure on the wind.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote expresses the idea of selflessness and contributing to others without counting personal loss.
May Sarton reflects on the beauty of giving oneself to others, much like a tree that releases seeds every spring. She suggests that true fulfillment comes from selfless acts that nurture future life and growth, emphasizing that what may seem like loss is actually a contribution to the cycle of life. The tree's natural tendency to spread its seeds symbolizes how individuals can enrich the lives of others, embodying a sense of purpose and connection to the world.
Themes
SelflessnessLifeGivingNatureGrowth
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about community service, one might use this quote to inspire volunteers.
More from May Sarton
All quotes →Pain can make a whole winter bright, like fever, force us to live deep and hard.
May SartonRead
She became for me an island of light, fun, wisdom where I could run with my discoveries and torments and hopes at any time of day and find welcome.
May SartonRead
Wrinkles here and there seem unimportant compared to the Gestalt of the whole person I have become in this past year.
May SartonRead
Here life goes on, even and monotonous on the surface, full of lightning, of summits and of despair, in its depths. We have now arrived at a stage in life so rich in new perceptions that cannot be transmitted to those at another stage - one feels at the same time full of so much gentleness and so much despair - the enigma of this life grows, grows, drowns one and crushes one, then all of a sudden in a supreme moment of light one becomes aware of the sacred.
May SartonRead
I think of the trees and how simply they let go, let fall the riches of a season, how without grief (it seems) they can let go and go deep into their roots for renewal and sleep.... Imitate the trees. Learn to lose in order to recover, and remember that nothing stays the same for long, not even pain, psychic pain. Sit it out. Let it all pass. Let it go.
May SartonRead
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CommonRead
Early evening traffic was beginning to clog the avenue with cars. The sun slanted down behind him. Harry glanced at the drivers of the cars. They seemed unhappy. The world was unhappy. People were in the dark. People were terrified and disappointed. People were caught in traps. People were defensive and frantic. They felt as if their lives were being wasted. And they were right.
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There is more to life than increasing its speed.
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