(born 1946).
American writer, poet and essayist, known for her lyrical descriptions of nature and her work on life in the wilderness of Wyoming, Iceland and the polar regions.
Gretel Ehrlich. Photo: gretelehrlich.com
Everything in nature invites us constantly to be what we are.
Photo: Kien Do. Meaning:The statement contains a few layered ideas:Authenticity as a law of nature. Nature “invites” — it does not force, but allows every being to be exactly what it is. An oak grows as an oak, a river flows as a river. Ehrlich suggests that this also applies to humans: nature constantly invites us to be our true nature, without a mask or adaptation to the expectations of others. Contradiction as the core of being. The comparison with rivers shows that “what we are” is not simple or one-dimensional. A river can be simultaneously clear and murky — and so are people: full of inner contradictions that are all authentic. Comfort in imperfection. Ehrlich wrote the book after a personal crisis (she left for Wyoming to mourn the death of a loved one). Nature offered her comfort precisely because it passes no judgment — it accepts everything as it is. That is the core of the “solace” in the title. Author and origin: The quote “Everything in nature invites us constantly to be what we are” comes from the American writer Gretel Ehrlich, from her book “The Solace of Open Spaces” (1986), published by Penguin Group USA. Gretel Ehrlich (born 1946) is an American writer, poet, and essayist, known for her lyrical descriptions of nature and her work on life in the wilderness of Wyoming, Iceland, and the polar regions. The statement is longer in the original and reads in full: “Everything in nature invites us constantly to be what we are. We are often like rivers: careless and forceful, timid and dangerous, lucid and muddied, eddying, gleaming, still.” The first sentence is now known as a standalone quote; The second sentence deepens the image by comparing man to a river — simultaneously reckless and powerful, timid and dangerous, clear and murky.
Door Pieter
Mensenmens, zoon, echtgenoot, vader, opa.
Spiritueel, echter niet religieus.
Ik hou van golf, wandelen, lezen en de natuur in veel opzichten.
Onderzoeker, nieuwsgierig, geen fan van de mainstream media (MSM).
