Sad Quote of the Day
Heard on NPR this morning, this quote from a NY resident was part of a story about night life in Manhattan:
“I have come to accept that I won’t hear birds tweeting in the morning. I have come to accept that I won’t see stars twinkling over my head at night, because I live in New York City.”
How does one come to accept such sacrifices? I never understood.
Guy
Category: Thoughts and Musings
I heard the same quote this morning on the way to work.
Sadder yet, there wasn’t a twinge of regret in her voice.
Reminded me of Thoreau’s saying:
“The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. What is called resignation is confirmed desperation…”
Great quote, John, and so true. I can understand resigning to and accepting things that are beyond one’s control, but this self-imposed confinement is a human trait I just can’t relate to.
Guy
What scares me even more is that chance, that at some point in the not too distance future, we may all find ourselves having to accept the loss of nature because of our choices as a society.
Matt, I think it’s a chicken-and-egg situation. Too many people grow up without ever knowing or understanding the importance of wildness. As a result they come to accept its absence in their lives, or plain not care about it. As long as their needs are met and they are appropriately entertained, nothing else matters.
A poignant quote from Ed Abbey: “In the modern technoindustrial culture, it is possible to proceed from infancy into senility without ever knowing manhood.”
(and I would personally substitute “maturity” for “manhood”; it applies to both sexes)
Guy
Guy,
I really love the blog man and your writing is poignant and poetic. The wilderness and nature has always been a healing and spiritual place for me. I wish for others to learn to embrace it with compassion and a childlike curiosity. It is what makes me whole.
I have added your link to my web log. Keep up the great work.
Joe
Thanks so much, Joe!
Guy
Hey Guy
Ain’t it something? And folks say going hiking in the mountains, around bears, and sleeping on the ground, is crazy! Those same folks sit in their car 90 minutes each way to work a job.
Cheers
Carl
I’m sure that you have all read this, but I like to read it often..it always reminds me of what is important
“Give your approval to all you cannot
understand. Praise ignorance, for what man
has not encountered he has not destroyed.”
–Wendell Berry
Here is a link to the entire Manifesto:
http://www.context.org/ICLIB/IC30/Berry.htm
Hey Matt,
Great line – Wendell Berry is one of the greatest writers I’ve read – an amazingly intelligent man. Thanks for the quote and the link.
Cheers
Carl
Guy,
I think we all make sacrifices that may seem strange to others that are living in a different environment and culture. I too can not understand how someone can willingly sacrifice the gift of the stars above or the singing of birds in the morning, but I’m sure they can’t understand how I sacrifice the modern conveniences of a big city.
BTW, the journal looks great!
Best,
Adam
In truth, we don’t have to undestand how anyone chooses to live – sacrifices and all. We simply need to have understanding and compassion that ours is not the only way. The NPR quote simply demonstrates what one person is willing to give up. But maybe that person gains something else, eg. access to art, theater, night life, cab rides. Who knows or should judge why people choose what they do?
It would not be how I wish to live either.
Hey Laurent,
Did I read that right? ….. ‘cab rides’?????
I don’t need to judge people’s choices to understand what’s missing if they give up contact with the natural world – it’s like growing up without contact with one’s parents, and is a surefire path to dysfunction. Everyone has that choice to make, for sure, and I’d never try to mandate how they live their lives – but that doesn’t disqualify or invalidate commentary.
Cheers
Carl
Since I started with a quote, I’ll follow up with another to make my point clearer:
“The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it’s indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it’s indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it’s indifference.” –Elie Weisel
I don’t need to understand anyone’s choices. But, like it or not, there are certain natural axioms our very existence as living beings depends on, and many more that determine our welfare. If we remain indifferent to their fate, we will certainly lose them and, consequently, ourselves.
Guy
It’s all a matter of priorities.
Scene: thousands of people walking through Grand Central Station. A sparrow has gotten in there and is twittering away. No New Yorker notices. A birdwatcher rolls a quarter down the middle of the floor and every New Yorker in earshot turns toward the sound…. (Story adapted from one by Tom Brown, Jr.)
I think I didn’t come across quite right.
I do believe that lack of contact with the natural world is not a good thing. In fact I think I remember seeing some articles on the subject. However, I do believe there may be reasons for living in NYC that are important to those people who choose to do so. I would hope for their sanity, they make trips to parks (where there are at least pigeons and trees), or out to the country, or wherever some form of contact with natural organic matter can happen. My guess is many do not and that does sadden me.
Carl, yes, ‘cab rides.’ Sometimes they are a good thing. Maybe I should have stated good public transportation (of which we have none here in the SW), instead.
I also never meant to invalidate the commentary. I feel it is very valid. I was merely replying to Guy’s question/statement of “How does one come to accept such sacrifices? I never understood.” and advocating we don’t need to, we should just feel compassion for them. Maybe I should also say that I believe as nature photographers, it’s our job to share what we see to those who might not even know what they are missing. At least that’s one of my personal goals.
I totally agree 100% Guy. I have been working at the L.A. Times and I’m considered “weird” because I don’t live in the city nor spend anytime in the city outside of work. And I only live 25 miles away in the suburbs! Talk about sheltered, the thought of living outside of an urban wasteland to them is like the equivalent of going to hell. For the rest of us, it is quite the opposite. Personally I dont’ care how others live their lives, but people should be more open minded.