Home Page » consciousness » Pilgrim at Tinker Creek » 63504
The remarkable thing about the world of insects, however, is precisely that there is no veil cast over these horrors. These are mysteries performed in broad daylight before our very eyes; we can see every detail, and yet they are still mysteries. If, as Heraclitus suggests, god, like an oracle, neither "declares nor hides, but sets forth by signs," then clearly I had better be scrying the signs. The earth devotes an overwhelming proportion of its energy to these buzzings and leaps in the grass. Theirs is the biggest wedge of the pie: Why? I ought to keep a giant water bug in an aquarium on my dresser, so I can think about it.
by Annie Dillard
(0 Reviews)

The world of insects is both fascinating and perplexing, revealing its mysteries in plain sight. Despite their visibility, the complexities and brutalities of their existence remain enigmatic. This duality, where the horror of nature unfolds openly, challenges our understanding and invites contemplation of the deeper truths behind these creatures. Dillard suggests that like an oracle, nature communicates through signs, urging us to discover their meaning.

The immense energy of the earth is largely directed toward these small beings, highlighting their significance in the ecosystem. Dillard expresses a desire to keep a giant water bug as a reminder to reflect on the intricate relationships and mysteries of life found within the insect world. This thoughtful observation prompts us to delve into the essence of existence, encouraging us to seek answers in the everyday wonders around us.

Stats

Categories
consciousness
Book
Pilgrim at Tinker Creek
Author
Annie Dillard
Votes
0
Page views
16
Update
March 31, 2025
Report
Report a Problem

Rate the Quote

Add Comment & Review

User Reviews

Based on 0 reviews
5 Star
0
4 Star
0
3 Star
0
2 Star
0
1 Star
0
Add Comment & Review
We'll never share your email with anyone else.
More »

Other quotes in Pilgrim at Tinker Creek

Annie Dillard
Annie Dillard
Annie Dillard
Annie Dillard
Annie Dillard
Annie Dillard
More »

Other quotes in consciousness

Neel Burton
Anne Lamott
Annie Dillard
Hilary Mantel
Samuel Beckett
C.G. Jung
More »

Popular quotes

Taffy. He thinks about taffy. He thinks it would take his teeth out now, but he would eat it anyhow, if it meant eating it with her.
by Mitch Albom
All our human endeavours are like that, she reflected, and it is only because we are too ignorant to realize it, or are too forgetful to remember it, that we have the confidence to build something that is meant to last.
by Alexander McCall Smith
The value of money is subjective, depending on age. At the age of one, one multiplies the actual sum by 145,000, making one pound seem like 145,000 pounds to a one-year-old. At seven – Bertie's age – the multiplier is 24, so that five pounds seems like 120 pounds. At the age of twenty four, five pounds is five pounds; at forty five it is divided by 5, so that it seems like one pound and one pound seems like twenty pence. {All figures courtesy of Scottish Government Advice Leaflet: Handling your Money.}
by Alexander McCall Smith
In fact, none of us knows how he ever managed to get his LLB in the first place. Maybe they're putting law degrees in cornflakes boxes these days.
by Alexander McCall Smith
Look, if you say that science will eventually prove there is no God, on that I must differ. No matter how small they take it back, to a tadpole, to an atom, there is always something they can't explain, something that created it all at the end of the search. And no matter how far they try to go the other way – to extend life, play around with the genes, clone this, clone that, live to one hundred and fifty – at some point, life is over. And then what happens? When the life comes to an end? I shrugged. You see? He leaned back. He smiled. When you come to the end, that's where God begins.
by Mitch Albom
Small towns are like metronomes; with the slightest flick, the beat changes.
by Mitch Albom
You say you should have died instead of me. But during my time on earth, people died instead of me, too. It happens every day. When lightning strikes a minute after you are gone, or an airplane crashes that you might have been on. When your colleague falls ill and you do not. We think such things are random. But there is a balance to it all. One withers, another grows. Birth and death are part of a whole.
by Mitch Albom
we get so many lives between birth and death. A life to be a child. A life to come of age. A life to wander, to settle, to fall in love, to parent, to test our promise, to realize our mortality-and, in some lucky cases, to do something after that realization.
by Mitch Albom
But an ink brush, she thinks, is a skeleton key for a prisoner's mind.
by David Mitchell
Where there's bluster, thinks Luisa, there's duplicity
by David Mitchell
All Categories »

Categories

love
inspirational
history
soul