Wilderness to the people of America is a spiritual necessity, an antidote to the high pressure of modern life, a means of regaining serenity and equilibrium.
Interpretation
Wilderness offers a vital escape from the stresses of modern life.
In this quote, Sigurd F. Olson emphasizes the importance of wilderness to the American spirit, suggesting it serves as a necessary refuge for the soul amidst the chaos and pressures of contemporary society. By engaging with nature, people can find peace, restore their mental balance, and reconnect with their inner selves.
In practice
During a motivational speech on mental health, one might convey the importance of nature by quoting Olson.
While we are born with curiosity and wonder and our early years full of the adventure they bring, I know such inherent joys are often lost. I also know that, being deep within us, their latent glow can be fanned to flame again by awareness and an open mind.
When a man is part of his canoe, he is part of all that canoes have ever known.
Beauty is composed of many things and never stands alone. It is part of horizons, blue in the distance, great primeval silences, knowledge of all things of the earth. It embodies the hopes and dreams of those who have gone before, including the spirit world; it is so fragile it can be destroyed by a sound or thought. It may be infinitesimally small or encompass the universe itself. It comes in a swift conception wherever nature has not been disturbed.
Simplicity in all things is the secret of the wilderness and one of its most valuable lessons
The way of a canoe is the way of the wilderness, and of a freedom almost forgotten.
One cannot run from a challenge without losing. To flee is signing a death warrant to dignity and character, and, having run, there is no return; one is a weakling forever. Meeting a challenge, though one may be defeated, gives strength, character, and a certain assurance that regardless of outcome, one will survive or go down fighting.
It is impossible for Bangladesh alone to take action against the rising sea level, as it has been a cumulative effect of global emission in which Bangladesh does not have any role. It is the responsibility of global community to address this issue as urgently as possible.
Businesses and governments need to work together and make a joint commitment if we want to address climate change effectively and quickly.
My banks they are furnish'd with bees, Whose murmur invites one to sleep.
Anyone who thinks humans are not capable of so fouling their own nest that the land and the waters can no longer be productive just hasn't been paying attention.
Perhaps the single most important thing that we can do to undo the harm we have done is to fix firmly in our minds the thought: the earth is alive.
Take long walks in stormy weather or through deep snows in the fields and woods, if you would keep your spirits up. Deal with brute nature. Be cold and hungry and weary.
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