"Cherry blossoms whirl, leaves fall, and the wind flits them both along the ground. We cannot arrest with our eyes or ears what lies in such things. Were we to gain mastery over them, we would find that the life of each thing had vanished without a trace."— Matsuo Bashō (1644-1694)
“One ought, every day at least, to hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture, and, if it were possible, to speak a few reasonable words.”— Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
"The divine communicates to us primarily through the language of the natural world.— Thomas Berry
Not to hear the natural world is not to hear the divine."
"Instructions for living a life:— Mary Oliver, in "Red Bird" (2008)
Pay attention.
Be astonished.
Tell about it."
"Let me seek, then, the gift of silence, and poverty, and solitude, where everything I touch is turned into prayer: where the sky is my prayer, the birds are my prayer, the wind in the trees is my prayer."— Thomas Merton
"Wonder is the religion nature invented long before we told our first myths of prophets and messiahs."— Richard Dawkins
“Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts.”— Rachel Carson
"… but ask the animals, and they will teach you;— Job 12:7
or speak to the land, and it will inform you"
"Whoever does not see God in every place— Rabbi Elimelech
does not see God in any place."
"Plant breath becomes animal breath,— Robin Wall Kimmerer
animal becomes plant,
plant becomes fungus,
fungus becomes plant,
mouth-to-mouth resuscitation that fulfills our deepest longing for union with the earth."
"Look deep into nature, and then you will understand better."— Albert Einstein