Widely recognised as John of the Mountains or Father of the National Parks, Muir was a greatly influential and famous Scottish-American environmental philosopher, botanist, a reputed author, and a passionate mountaineer. He was an early advocate for the preservation of wildlife in the United States of America.
The Yosemite National Park is all thanks to John Muir, his advocacies, and his writings.
He has written some of the greatest books of all time including The Yosemite, Our National Parks, The Mountains of California, and many more.
Muir has also given some of the most inspiring and thoughtful quotations, many in which he has very beautifully personified nature. Here is a list of some famous John Muir quotes.
When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world.
Muir being a naturalist was deeply attached to nature. Here he is trying to tell us that in nature, one shall find his/her solace. Once you form a bond with nature, it becomes unbreakable; you get attached to the sky or the mountains, you will find yourself getting attached to everything else it has to offer gradually.
Even if you admire a single thing about nature, be it the smallest, you will start appreciating the world slowly, and find beauty in everything there is.
Earth has no sorrow that earth cannot heal.
There is no pain, no plight on this Earth, that Earth, its soil, and its roots cannot heal. Nature is always warm and welcoming to its admirers, regardless of their colour, caste, or gender, because unlike humans, nature never discriminates; it tends to offer the same love and consolation to a homeless man, that it would offer to a wealthy kid.
The power of nature is such that it heals wounds that are on the inside, invisible to the naked eye.
Not blind opposition to progress, but opposition to blind progress...
There shouldn't be any opposition against progress, especially not the kind of opposition that is blind and has no valid reasons or logic behind it. But there certainly should be opposition to the kind of progress which is blind; the kind of progress that is solely beneficial to the person commencing it and is rather destructive for others, and the kind of progress that is not desired on a general level by people. This should be opposed thoroughly.
For instance, for a construction company, cutting down a land full of tress and depriving it of its greenery might be viable for standing up huge buildings and they might cite it as economic progress. However, it is simply demolishing nature and stripping the world off its beauty.
How narrow we selfish conceited creatures are in our sympathies! How blind to the rights of all the rest of creation!
Muir has quite profoundly expressed his concerns here, by highlighting the fact that we all tend to get so busy with our lives and the materialistic aspects of it, that we seldom appreciate the countless other things that the world has to offer.
The gaudy and wealthy things of life tend to blind us from the richness of the nature, due to which we fail to admire the innumerable simplicities and beauties of life.
God has cared for these trees, saved them from drought, disease, avalanches, and a thousand tempests and floods. Even so, God cannot save them from fools.
No matter what natural disaster or calamity passes by, be it a storm, a drought, or any disease, the trees stand still under the protective shield of God as he guards them and preserves the beauty of nature. But even God is unable to protect the trees or the forest from the evil of man's foolishness. As humans carelessly cut down trees and take over the land as if it were their property, God looks upon us with disappointment, hoping that someday people realise it all before it is too late.
Come to the woods, for here is rest.
Muir asks us to wander through the wilderness, as it is a rather eye-opening venture, and he says so from the first-hand experience.
When one takes haven in the lap of nature, one is bound to experience exceedingly peaceful sleep. Taking a stroll through the woods or going to the forest and simply doing nothing, is enough for nature to infuse into one's soul and make them happier and calmer.
Rest and relaxation aren't in the city amidst the noise and the pollution; rather, it is in the woods, surrounded by other wonders of nature.
The deeper the solitude the less the sense of loneliness, and the nearer our friends.
Once you master the art of being alone, the fear of being lonely will vanish by itself.
Staying in solitude is also a rather important part of one's life. You cannot keep yourself surrounded by people always; you need to take out time for yourself and just be with yourself and nobody else.
The more attached you feel to your own self, the closer you are bound to feel to other people.
Fortunately, wrong cannot last. Soon or late it must fall back home to Hades, while some compensating good must surely follow.
Regardless of how good a lie has been told or damaging wrong has been done, it will fall, and truthfulness and right will prevail. Here Muir has made a reference of Hades, the Greek God of death and underworld, and says, that everything wrong will fall back and go back to where it came from, i.e., the home of Hades. If it is wrong, right will follow; it might take time, but the good will always be there to compensate for the bad.
The power of imagination makes us infinite
The way we think is directly proportional to the way we act and behave. And science has proved it that our thoughts have a kind of power and energy; this is why it is said that we tend to attract what we believe in. The more optimistic mindset you have, the more positive and good things are bound to come your way. But if your thoughts are clouded with negativity, then there is not going to pep coming your way anytime soon.
The power of imagination is so great that it makes us infinite because it knows no bounds and no limits; imagination is freedom within itself.
In every walk with nature, one receives far more than he seeks.
If you bond with nature, it will form a connection with your soul deeper than you might have anticipated. And if you wander around, admiring nature and expressing your gratitude, you are going to learn a lot more than you would have expected.
For instance, if you are to take a stroll through the woods to calm your mind after a heated argument or simply go outside your house to get some fresh air and be by yourself, you are bound to learn so much, even if you weren't planning on to.
Nature holds the answers to all of one's questions, especially the ones that are rooted deep in one's subconscious.
Keep close to Nature's heart... and break clear away, once in a while, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean.
One should always be close to nature and stay attached to the sheer beauty of it.
Take a break from your busy lifestyle, your work, and from everyone else, to spend time with yourself, in the lap of nature. Go hiking, spend a weekend in the forest, or go river rafting, but take out time every once in a while, to cleanse your soul, and to remind yourself of the purpose of life; life is more than the luxuries, the good and the bad. Develop a habit of indulging yourself into a nature getaway whenever you get the opportunity to do so.
Sheep, like people, are ungovernable when hungry.
Sheep tend to get wild and unmanageable when they are hungry. They tend to run here and there, and it gets difficult to govern them or look after them. Muir here has talked about a similar situation but in reference to humans. He has talked about the hunger of humans, but this is a different kind of hunger. This is the hunger for money and power. When a man gets blinded by his hunger for authority and wealth, he too tends to go astray and becomes rather unmanageable, just like sheep do.
Continue reading some more John Muir Quotes.....
Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul.
Along with food, shelter, and other necessities of life, the beauty of nature is also needed because the former are enough to fulfil one's physical and other external needs, but the latter tends to fulfil the needs of the mind and the soul; praying and gratitude tend to heal one's mind and spirit, which is also one of the most important aspects of life.
Just as physical factors make your body strong; nature tends to strengthen and shelter your soul.
Who wouldn't be a mountaineer! Up here all the world's prizes seem nothing.
Muir here is narrating his experience as a mountaineer.
From the heights of the mountains, all the other worldly pleasures, prizes, and material happiness seem small and shallow, for up there, is the real prize; the prize of a free spirit and clear mind, where you are able to see the world in its rawest and purest form and are able to admire the true beauty of the world and nature.
It seems supernatural, but only because it is not understood.
The things that most people tend to label as supernatural are often the things that their mind fails to grasp and the beauty and power of which, they fail to understand.
It only seems supernatural and stupid because one is unable to understand its true essence and value.
Society speaks and all men listen, mountains speak, and wise men listen.
Everybody tends to listen to society and other people, but it is only the greater and the wiser, who are able to listen to what the mountains speak.
Muir has personified mountains in this quote; mountains speaking does not mean the mountains are literally saying words; it is their beauty and their spiritual influence that is being talked about here.
Only by going alone in silence, without baggage, can one truly get into the heart of the wilderness. All other travel is mere dust and hotels and baggage and chatter.
Travelling holds meaning only when it is into the deep wilderness or the heart of the mountains because it is through this travel that one is able to gain true knowledge and light; it tends to cleanse one's soul by washing away all the wounds on the inside. Whereas travelling, in general, is merely going into hotels and being surrounded by noise and chaos.
In the lap of nature, is where one will find true purpose and meaning of life.
I bade adieu to mechanical inventions, determined to devote the rest of my life to the study of the inventions of God.
Here Muir is talking about how he bid his farewell and said goodbye to the inventions of man for they seem to hold no true value. Rather, he committed himself to the inventions of God, to the eternal beauty of nature that the world has to offer because, in those, he finds himself.
One can make a day of any size and regulate the rising and setting of his own sun and the brightness of its shining.
It is only our own hands and nobody else's control, to regulate how our day goes, as well as our life. It is in our control to regulate the rising and setting of our own sun, which means that it is us who has the power to make sure how our day goes, where we invest our time and energy, and how much we do in our lives.
Wilderness is a necessity. There must be places for human beings to satisfy their souls.
Wilderness and the beauty that nature has to offer is also a necessity of life, just as other factors such as food, money, and shelter. The latter tends to satiate the external needs of man, but what about the needs of one's soul? For that, there is nature, because it tends to satisfy one's needs of the mind and soul.
Co-author: Khushi Shah
Khushi has just passed her school and is now studying at PDPU. Apart from writing, she likes to sketch and dance. She also has other blogs where she posts proses and poetry.
