An owl sound wandered along the road with me. I didn't hear it--I breathed it into my ears.
Interpretation
This quote expresses a deep connection with nature, showcasing the importance of truly experiencing the world around us.
William Stafford's quote illustrates how nature can become an integral part of our sensory experience. By describing how he 'breathed' the owl's sound into his ears, Stafford conveys a sense of mindfulness and awareness, emphasizing that true engagement with our surroundings can evoke profound feelings of connection and serenity. This reflective approach invites us to be present in the moment and fully appreciate the subtleties of the natural world.
In practice
This quote can be used in a nature appreciation workshop to encourage participants to engage with their environment.
I keep following this sort of hidden river of my life, you know, whatever the topic or impulse which comes, I follow it along trustingly. And I don't have any sense of its coming to a kind of crescendo, or of its petering out either. It is just going steadily along.
They miss the whisper that runs any day in your mind, "Who are you really, wanderer?"-- and the answer you have to give no matter how dark and cold the world around you is: "Maybe I'm a king.
A speech is something you say so as to distract attention from what you do not say.
The things you do not have to say make you rich. Saying things you do not have to say weakens your talk. Hearing things you do not need to hear dulls your hearing. And things you know before you hear them β those are you, those are why you are in the world.
A poem is a serious joke, a truth that has learned jujitsu.
So, the world happens twice--_x000D_ once what we see it as;_x000D_ second it legends itself_x000D_ deep, the way it is.
I'd like to see the giant squid. Nobody has ever seen one. I could tell you people who have spent thousands and thousands of pounds trying to see giant squid. I mean, we know they exist because we have seen dead ones. But I have never seen a living one. Nor has anybody else.
But I know every rock and tree and creature has a life, has a spirit, has a name.
Coral reefs, the rain forest of the ocean, are home for one-third of the species of the sea. Coral reefs are under stress for several reasons, including warming of the ocean, but especially because of ocean acidification, a direct effect of added carbon dioxide. Ocean life dependent on carbonate shells and skeletons is threatened by dissolution as the ocean becomes more acid.
Mother, mother ocean, I have heard you call. Wanted to sail upon your waters, since I was three feet tall. You've seen it all, you've seen it all. Watched the men who rode you, switch from sails to steam. In your belly, you hold the treasure that few have ever seen, most of them dreams, most of them dreams.
The calm, Cool face of the river, Asked me for a kiss
If I have any lasting worth, it will be because I have tried to make people remember what the Earth is meant to look like.
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