Inspirational Quotes

*Rachel Carson:

"If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder without any such gifts from the fairies, he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy, excitement and mystery of the world we live in."

"It is not half so important to know as to feel when introducing a young child to the natural world."

"Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts."



*William Butler Yeats:
"Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire."

 

 

*Ralph Waldo Emerson: 

 "At the gates of the forest…we find Nature to be the circumstance which dwarfs every other circumstance…These enchantments are medicinal, they sober and heal us." 

*Goethe:
"All understanding begins with wonder."



*Rudolf Steiner:
" Living in harmony with nature and reason is the basis of all true spiritual development." 



*Henry David Thoreau
“…I am struck by the fact that the more slowly trees grow at first, the sounder they are at the core, and I think that the same is true for human beings. We do not wish to see children precocious, making great strides in their early years like sprouts, producing a soft and perishable timber; but better if they expand slowly at first, as if contending with difficulties, and so are solidified and perfected. Such trees continue to expand with nearly equal rapidity to an extreme old age.”


*Nikos Kazantzakis
"...I remembered one morning when I discovered a cocoon in the bark of a tree, just as the butterfly was making a hold in its case and preparing to come out.  I waited for a while, but it was too long appearing and I was impatient.  I bent over it and breathed on it to warm it.  I warmed it as quickly as I could and the miracle began to happen before my eyes, faster than life.  The case opened, the butterfly started slowly crawling out, and I shall never forget my horror when I saw how its wings were folded back and crumpled; the wrethced butterfly tried with its whole trembling body to unfold them.  Bending over it, I tried to help it with my breath.  In vain.  It needed to be hatched out patiently and the unfolding of the wings should be a gradual process in the sun.  Now it was too late.  My breath had forced the butterfly to appear, all crumpled, before its time.  It struggled desperately and, a few seconds later, died in the palm of my hand. 
That little body is, I do believe, the greatest weight I have on my conscience.  For I realize today that it is a mortal sin to violate the great laws of nature.  We should not be impatient, but we should confidently obey the eternal rhythm."