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One final paragraph of advice: do not burn yourselves out. Be as I am - a reluctant enthusiast... a part-time crusader, a half-hearted fanatic. Save the other half of yourselves and your lives for pleasure and adventure. It is not enough to fight for the land; it is even more important to enjoy it. While you can. While it's still here. So get out there and hunt and fish and mess around with your friends, ramble out yonder and explore the forests, climb the mountains, bag the peaks, run the rivers, breathe deep of that yet sweet and lucid air, sit quietly for a while and contemplate the precious stillness, the lovely, mysterious, and awesome space. Enjoy yourselves, keep your brain in your head and your head firmly attached to the body, the body active and alive, and I promise you this much; I promise you this one sweet victory over our enemies, over those desk-bound men and women with their hearts in a safe deposit box, and their eyes hypnotized by desk calculators. I promise you this; You will outlive the bastards.

Edward Abbey#55

NatureLifeActivismBalanceHappinessSustainabilityWell being

About this quote

What does it mean?
Activism is sustainable only if activists prioritize their own well-being, joy, and connection to nature.
In plain terms
Don't burn out fighting for the land; enjoy it while you still can.
What can you take from it?
Prioritize your own well-being to sustain long-term activism.

Where it applies

  • advocacy work
  • environmentalism
  • burnout

Putting it to work

  • finding joy in activism
  • setting boundaries

Questions to consider

  • How do you balance duty and joy?
  • Can you fight without enjoying?

Another view

It might prioritize pleasure over urgent action needed for the land.

More from Edward Abbey

  1. Hierarchical institutions are like giant bulldozers - obedient to the whim of any fool who takes the controls.

    Permalink to quote #54
  2. God is a sound people make when they're too tired to think anymore.

    Permalink to quote #53
  3. The only thing worse than a knee-jerk liberal is a knee-pad conservative.

    Permalink to quote #52

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