The Homing Instinct: Meaning & Mystery... A source page for quotes linked to Bernd Heinrich. 0 quotes
“Like other species, we evolved in wilderness and although we are now able to satisfy many of our physical needs outside it (at least in the short term), psychologically we still need the vital diversity, complexity, grandeur, and beauty of wild places. We need to feel connected to something tangible that can be seen, smelled, tasted, that is much greater than out own fleeting existence. Call it religion. There are untold millions who believe in this religion although they may not come out and say so, mostly because its tenets are so deeply ingrained as to be taken for granted. No organized faith is therefore necessary. To me and others of this religion a wilderness made by God and/or by the mechanism of evolution is at least as, if not more, holy than a cathedral made by man, and to harm it is a desecration. I see enough glimpses of this wilderness in my forest to feel inspired by a feeling of interconnectedness with the web of life. It gives me a dream. It is a realistic dream that is not destructive, and that all can take part in and enjoy the results. Preserving and fostering the fantastic life on earth grants infinitely more practical and intellectual rewards than the expensive but trivial knowledge of whether there are microbes on Mars.” LifeNatureDiversityWildernessPreservation Book:The Trees in My Forest Source: The Trees in My Forest
“There is a period near the beginning of every man's life when he has little to cling to except his unmanageable dreams, little to support him except good health, and nowhere to go but all over the place by E. B. White” InspirationalDreamGrowing UpChildGrowing OldWandering Book:The Homing Instinct: Meaning & Mystery in Animal Migration Source: The Homing Instinct: Meaning & Mystery in Animal Migration
“For those that endure until spring, existence is reduced to its elegant essentials.” ExistenceEssentialsSpringEndureElegant Author:Bernd Heinrich
“I do not yet want to form a hypothesis to test, because as soon as you make a hypothesis, you become prejudiced. Your mind slides into a groove, and once it is in that groove, has difficulty noticing anything outside of it. During this time, my sense must be sharp; that is the main thing - to be sharp, yet open.” WantMindFormTestsDifficultyHypothesisSlidesNoticingGroove Author:Bernd Heinrich
“Movement is the essence of life.” RunningMovementEssenceEssence Of Life Book:Why We Run: A Natural History Source: Why We Run: A Natural History
“The very idea of "managing" a forest in the first place is oxymoronic, because a forest is an ecosystem that is by definition self-managing.” FirstsIdeasSelfDefinitionsForestsEcosystems Book:The Trees in My Forest Source: The Trees in My Forest
“Barry L. Jacobs and colleagues from the neuroscience program at Princeton University showed that when mice ran every day on an exercise wheel, they developed more brain cells and they learned faster than sedentary controls. I believe in mice.” BelieveI BelieveBrainExerciseProgramUniversityI Believe InCellsFasterRanWheelsMiceColleaguesNeuroscienceJacobPrincetonSedentaryBrain CellsPrinceton University Author:Bernd Heinrich
“There is nothing quite so gentle, deep, and irrational as running--and nothing quite so savage, so wild.” RunningGentleSavagesIrrational Author:Bernd Heinrich
“Running is perhaps the most fundamental of all sports, and it is economically the least costly to perform. As a consequence, it is the most democratic and most competitive of all sports because individual merit can prevail despite economic equality. It is a sport for everyone, the whole world over.” WorldWholeRunningIndividualSportsEconomicConsequenceFundamentalsDemocraticWhole WorldDespiteMeritEconomic Equality Author:Bernd Heinrich
“We are social animals. We like to feel a part of something of beauty and power that transcends our insignificance. It can be a religion, a political party, a ball club. Why not also Nature? I feel a strong identity with the world of living things. I was born into it; we all were. But we may not feel the ties unless we gain intimacy by seeing, feeling, smelling, touching and studying the natural world. Trying to live in harmony with the dictates of nature is probably as inspirational as living in harmony with the Koran or the Bible. Perhaps it is also a timely undertaking.” WorldFeelsTryingMayFeelingsPoliticalStrongSocialBornNaturalAnimalPartyStudySeeingIdentityGainsBallsHarmonyClubsIntimacyTiesWhy NotTouchingPolitical PartiesLiving ThingsNatural WorldUndertakingsTimelyInsignificance Book:One Man's Owl Source: One Man's Owl
“Spraying to kill trees and and raspberry bushes after a clear-cut merely looks unaesthetic for a short time, but tree plantations are deliberate ecodeath. Yet, tree planting is often pictorially advertised on television and in national magazines by focusing on cupped caring hands around a seedling. But forests do not need this godlike interference... Planting tree plantations is permanent deforestation... The extensive planting of just one exotic species removes thousands of native species.” NeedsLooksHandsClearCuttingTreeTelevisionSpeciesCaringForestsMagazinesPermanentJust OneNativeRemoveDeliberateExoticInterferenceShort TimeGodlikeDeforestationPlantationsTree PlantingRaspberriesSeedlings Author:Bernd Heinrich
“The essential thing is to run period! And to do it for a long time and consistently and then everything will take care of itself.” LongCareRunningPeriodsEssentialsLong TimeTake CareConsistently Author:Bernd Heinrich
“Conditions are seldom ideal, and if one waits long enough for ideal conditions one is just making excuses.” IfsLongEnoughWaitingConditionsIdealsExcuseMaking Excuses Book:A Year in the Maine Woods Source: A Year in the Maine Woods
“Edward Abbey said you must brew your own beer; kick in you Tee Vee; kill your own beef; build your cabin and piss off the front porch whenever you bloody well feel like it. I already had a good start. As a teenager in rural Maine, after we came to America, I had learned hunting, fishing, and trapping in the wilderness. My Maine mentors had long ago taught me to make home brew. I owned a rifle, and I'd already built a log cabin. The rest should be easy. I thought I'd give it a shot.” GivingFeelsShouldWellsLongSaidHomeAmericaEasyFrontsTaughtShotsBuiltTeenagerBeerKicksFishingWildernessHuntingMentorLong AgoBloodyBeefRiflesMainePorchCabinsTeesAbbeyFront PorchesLog Cabins Book:A Year in the Maine Woods Source: A Year in the Maine Woods