American - Poet | October 7, 1948 -
As a species, we've somehow survived large and small ice ages, genetic bottlenecks, plagues, world wars and all manner of natural disasters, but I sometimes wonder if we'll survive our own ingenuity.
Diane Ackerman
WorldSurviveSmallIceWonderOwn
We live on the leash of our senses.
LiveSensesOurLeash
Because we can't escape our ancient hunger to live close to nature, we encircle the house with lawns and gardens, install picture windows, adopt pets and Boston ferns, and scent everything that touches our lives.
NatureLivePictureHouseWindows
Look in the mirror. The face that pins you with its double gaze reveals a chastening secret.
MirrorFaceYouLookSecretGaze
I'm fascinated how often and with what whole-heartedness people will risk their lives to perform acts of courage, sacrifice, and compassion for total strangers.
CourageCompassionSacrificePeople
Nature is more like a seesaw than a crystal, a never-ending conga line of bold moves and corrections.
NatureBoldMoreCrystalLineLike
As people flock to urban centers where ground space is limited, cities with green walls and roofs and skyscraper farms offer improved health and well-being, renewable resources, reliable food supply, and relief to the environment.
HealthFoodWallsSpacePeople
The simple, stupefying truth that, as a woman, I am a minute ocean, in the dark tropic of whose womb eggs lay coded as roe, floating in the sea that wet-nursed us all, moved me deeply.
TruthSeaSimpleOceanWomanI Am
The more we exile ourselves from nature, the more we crave its miracle waters.
NatureMoreMiracleOurselvesCrave
Just as our ancient ancestors drew animals on cave walls and carved animals from wood and bone, we decorate our homes with animal prints and motifs, give our children stuffed animals to clutch, cartoon animals to watch, animal stories to read.
ChildrenWallsAnimalWoodCave
As the most social apes, we inhabit a mirror-world in which every important relationship, whether with spouse, friend or child, shapes the brain, which in turn shapes our relationships.
FriendRelationshipChildBrainTurn
I don't want to be a passenger in my own life.
LifeWantMy OwnOwnPassenger
Copyright © 2024 QuotesDict Diane Ackerman quotes