And enough for me that when my hand touched your shoulder, you leaned on me; and when you felt me slip away, you called my name.
That is the earth, he thought. Not a globe thousands of kilometers around, but a forest with a shining lake, a house hidden at the crest of a hill, high in the trees, a grassy slope leading upwards from the water, fish leaping and birds strafing to take the bugs that lived at the border between water and sky. Earth was the constant noise of crickets, and winds, and birds
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote encapsulates the beauty and interconnectedness of nature, emphasizing its vivid details and life forms.
In this quote, Orson Scott Card illustrates a profound and intimate connection to the earth, portraying it not as a vast planet but as a vibrant, nurturing environment filled with life and tranquility. The imagery evokes a sensory experience, highlighting the beauty found in nature’s details, such as the sounds of crickets and the sights of jumping fish and birds. This perspective invites the reader to appreciate the natural world around them, recognizing it as a source of peace and wonder.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
During a nature retreat, one could use this quote to inspire appreciation for the surroundings.
More from Orson Scott Card
All quotes →The world is always a democracy in times of flux, and the man with the best voice will win.
Never mind that the story had turned out to be lies and foolishness—there was always folks stupid enough to say, Where there's smoke there's fire, when the saying should have been, Where there's scandalous lies there's always malicious believers and spreaders-around, regardless of evidence.
The lives of all people flow through time, and, regardless of how brutal one moment may be, how filled with grief or pain or fear, time flows through all lives equally.
You take a step, then another. That's the journey. But to take a step with your eyes open is not a journey at all, it's a remaking of your own mind.
I've had your tears with mine, and you've had mine with yours. I think that's more intimate even than a kiss.
Similar quotes
The grass he walked through was new and a sweet smell clung to his clothes. There was blue dye on his hands from the wild irises... that the color of the sky was a shade that could never be replicated in any photograph, just as Heaven could never be seen from the confines of Earth.
In my garden, after a rainfall, you can faintly, yes, hear the_x000D_ _x000D_ breaking of new blooms.
To the lover of pure wildness Alaska is one of the most wonderful countries in the world.
The gifts of nature are infinite in their variety, and mind differs from mind almost as much as body from body.
The miraculous is not extraordinary but the common mode of existence. It is our daily bread. Whoever really has considered the lilies of the field or the birds of the air and pondered the improbability of their existence in this warm world within the cold and empty stellar distances will hardly balk at the turning of water into wine which was, after all, a very small miracle. We forget the greater and still continuing miracle by which water (with soil and sunlight) is turned into grapes.
One thing I did was grow up as an ardent naturalist. I never grew out of my bug period.