Quotessence
Home / Quotes / Quote by Bill Bryson

Quote by Bill Bryson

Work

A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail

Browse quotes and source details for this work. more

Author

Bill Bryson
Bill Bryson

Bill Bryson, born on December 8, 1951, is a British author known for his humorous and knowledgeable writing. His works span across various fields, including travel literature, natural history, and science popularization. more

You May Also Like

“I had married an environmentalist and didn’t know it. I knew without having to look that there was no tree hugging indemnity clause even in the fine print of our marriage certificate. But we’d been manacled together in the Catholic Church. I wondered if I could get some leverage with the religious institution if I pinned my wife with the label of nature-worshipping Wiccan or possibly even Druid.”

“To listen is very hard, because it asks of us so much interior stability that we no longer need to prove ourselves by speeches, arguments, statements, or declarations. True listeners no longer have an inner need to make their presence known. They are free to receive, to welcome, to accept. Listening is much more than allowing another to talk while waiting for a chance to respond. Listening is paying full attention to others and welcoming them into our very beings. The beauty of listening is that, those who are listened to start feeling accepted, start taking their words more seriously and discovering their own true selves. Listening is a form of spiritual hospitality by which you invite strangers to become friends, to get to know their inner selves more fully, and even to dare to be silent with you.”