The long blue days, for his head, for his side, and the little paths for his feet, and all the brightness to touch and gather. Through the grass the little mosspaths, bony with old roots, and the trees sticking up, and the flowers sticking up, and the fruit hanging down, and the white exhausted butterflies, and the birds never the same darting all day long into hiding. And all the sounds, meaning nothing. Then at night rest in the quiet house, there are no roads, no streets any more, you lie down by a window opening on refuge, the little sounds come that demand nothing, ordain nothing, explain nothing, propound nothing, and the short necessary night is soon ended, and the sky blue again all over the secret places where nobody ever comes, the secret places never the same, but always simple and indifferent, always mere places, sites of a stirring beyond coming and going, of a being so light and free that it is as the being of nothing.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Nature offers quiet, indifferent beauty that demands nothing from the observer.
- In plain terms
- Nature is peaceful and asks for nothing.
- What can you take from it?
- Nature provides quiet refuge.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Where do you find quiet?
- How does nature feel?
Another view
It idealizes nature's neutrality.
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