Sometimes a person needs a story more than food to stay alive.
Barry LopezRead
The land retains an identity of its own, still deeper and more subtle than we can know. Our obligation toward it then becomes simple: to approach with an uncalculating mind, with an attitude of regard...be alert for its openings, for that moment when something sacred reveals itself within the mundane, and you know the land knows you are there.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The land has a deeper significance that we often overlook, and it's essential to approach it with respect and awareness.
This quote by Barry Lopez emphasizes the profound connection between humans and the natural world. It suggests that the land possesses its own intrinsic identity and wisdom that transcends our limited understanding. By recognizing this, we are reminded of our responsibility to engage with nature without preconceived notions, allowing ourselves to be open to its subtle messages and moments of beauty that can emerge from the ordinary.
Themes
NatureIdentityConnectionSacredObligationRespect
In practice
Example use cases
Sharing this quote during a nature retreat to emphasize respect for the environment.
More from Barry Lopez
All quotes →Remember on this one thing, said Badger. The stories people tell have a way of taking care of them. If stories come to you, care for them. And learn to give them away where they are needed. Sometimes a person needs a story more than food to stay alive. That is why we put these stories in each other's memories. This is how people care for themselves.
Barry LopezRead
We keep each other alive with our stories. We need to share them, as much as we need to share food. We also require for our health the presence of good companions. One of the most extraordinary things about the land is that it knows this—and it compels language from some of us so that as a community we may converse about this or that place, and speak of the need.
Barry LopezRead
The land is like poetry: it is inexplicably coherent, it is transcendent in its meaning, and it has the power to elevate a consideration of human life.
Barry LopezRead
The cold view to take of our future is that we are therefore headed for extinction in a universe of impersonal chemical, physical, and biological laws. A more productive, certainly more engaging view, is that we have the intelligence to grasp what is happening, the composure not to be intimidated by its complexity, and the courage to take steps that may bear no fruit in our lifetimes.
Barry LopezRead
Over the years, one comes to measure a place, too, not just for the beauty it may give, the balminess of its breezes, the insouciance and relaxation it encourages, the sublime pleasures it offers, but for what it teaches. The way in which it alters our perception of the human. It is not so much that you want to return to indifferent or difficult places, but that you want to not forget.
Barry LopezRead
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