John Muir Quotes

The temple bell stops but I still hear the sound coming out of the flowers.

I come into the peace of wild things who do not tax their lives with forethought of grief... For a time I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

Better than any argument is to rise at dawn and pick dew-wet red berries in a cup.

I love being in the woods, when I can just walk barefoot in the grass and just sit down and breathe. I love that so much.

And so she comes to dream herself the tree, The wind possessing her, weaving her young veins, Holding her to the sky and its quick blue, Drowning the fever of her hands in sunlight. She has no memory, nor fear, nor hope Beyond the grass and shadows at her feet.

The psychiatrist wants to know why I go out and hike around in the forests and watch the birds and collect butterflies. I'll show you my collection some day.Good.They want to know what I do with my time. I tell them that sometimes I just sit and think. But I won't tell them what. I've got them running. And sometimes, I tell them, I like to put my head back, like this, and let the rain fall in my mouth. It tastes just like wine. Have you ever tried it?

Allow nature to teach you stillness.

A star is beautiful; it affords pleasure, not from what it is to do, or to give, but simply by being what it is. It befits the heavens; it has congruity with the mighty space in which it dwells. It has repose; no force disturbs its eternal peace. It has freedom; no obstruction lies between it and infinity.

For every runner who tours the world running marathons, there are thousands who run to hear leaves and listen to rain and look to the day when it all is suddenly as easy as a bird in flight.

Being on a boat that's moving through the water, it's so clear. Everything falls into place in terms of what's important and what's not.

There is nothing like being left alone again, to walk peacefully with oneself in the woods. To boil one's coffee and fill one's pipe, and to think idly and slowly as one does it.

The desert is natural; when you are out there, you can get in tune with your environment, something you lose when you live in the city.

Peace is when time doesn't matter as it passes by.

I also became close to nature, and am now able to appreciate the beauty with which this world is endowed.

When you're connected to the ocean, you really don't think about what's going on with your email or texts or any of that. You're just a lot more liberated.

Sense the blessings of the earth in the perfect arc of a ripe tangerine, the taste of warm, fresh bread, the circling flight of birds, the lavender color of the sky shining in a late afternoon rain puddle, the million times we pass other beings in our cars and shops and out among the trees without crashing, conflict, or harm.

Happiness can only be found if you can free yourself of all other distractions.

I'm an introvert... I love being by myself, love being outdoors, love taking a long walk with my dogs and looking at the trees, flowers, the sky.

Fishing provides that connection with the whole living world. It gives you the opportunity of being totally immersed, turning back into yourself in a good way. A form of meditation, some form of communion with levels of yourself that are deeper than the ordinary self.

I was warmed by the sun, rocked by the winds and sheltered by the trees as other Indian babes. I was living peaceably when people began to speak bad of me. Now I can eat well, sleep well and be glad. I can go everywhere with a good feeling.

The time of wisdom cannot be measured, and for me, wisdom is the garden. There is no time in the garden.

To go in the water and stare at a shrimp for three minutes and not think about anything else in the world, it's just euphoric.

I like nothing more than walking down a country lane or along a mountain path - it's not proof that there is anything bigger than ourselves, but I feel very much at peace.

The very pointlessness of a sea walk is it's attractiveness to me.