Stories have the power to create social change and inspire community. Terry Tempest Williams More Quotes by Terry Tempest Williams More Quotes From Terry Tempest Williams The unexpected action of deep listening can create a space of transformation capable of shattering complacency and despair. Terry Tempest Williams despairspacelistening Greed says there is never enough. Abundance says there is more than enough. Greed closes the door behind itself. Abundance opens the door for others. Terry Tempest Williams abundancegreeddoors For far too long we have been seduced into walking a path that did not lead us to ourselves. For far too long we have said yes when we wanted to say no. And for far too long we have said no when we desperately wanted to say yes. . . . When we don't listen to our intuition, we abandon our souls. And we abandon our souls because we are afraid if we don't, others will abandon us. Terry Tempest Williams intuitionsoullong We can try to kill all that is native, string it up by its hind legs for all to see, but spirit howls and wildness endures. Terry Tempest Williams legsspirittrying I pray to the birds. I pray to the birds because I believe they will carry the messages of my heart upward. I pray to them because I believe in their existence, the way their songs begin and end each day—the invocations and benedictions of Earth. I pray to the birds because they remind me of what I love rather than what I fear. And at the end of my prayers, they teach me how to listen. Terry Tempest Williams prayersongbelieve Story is the umbilical cord that connects us to the past, present, and future. Family. Story is a relationship between the teller and the listener, a responsibility. . . . Story is an affirmation of our ties to one another. Terry Tempest Williams tiesresponsibilitypast I think our lack of intimacy with the land has initiated a lack of intimacy with each other. What we perceive as non- human, outside of us, is actually in direct relationship with us. Terry Tempest Williams intimacylandthinking I take a deep breath and sidestep my fear and begin speaking from the place where beauty and bravery meet--within the chambers of a quivering heart. Terry Tempest Williams take-a-deep-breathbraveryheart Our kinship with Earth must be maintained; otherwise, we will find ourselves trapped in the center of our own paved-over souls with no way out. Terry Tempest Williams environmentalsoulearth A shadow is never created in darkness. It is born of light. We can be blind to it and blinded by it. Our shadow asks us to look at what we don’t want to see Terry Tempest Williams shadowlightdarkness I am slowly, painfully discovering that my refuge is not found in my mother, my grandmother, of even the birds of Bear River. My refuge exists in my capacity to love. If I can learn to love death then I can begin to find refuge in change. Terry Tempest Williams capacity-to-lovemotherrivers When one of us says 'look, there is nothing out there,' what we are really saying is, 'I cannot see'. Terry Tempest Williams looks If we are at all sensitive to the life around us, to one another's pains and joys, Terry Tempest Williams painheartmean Today, I feel stronger, learning to live within the natural cycles of a day and to not expect too much of myself. As women, we hold the moon in our bellies. It is too much to ask to operate on full-moon energy three hundred and sixty-five days a year. I am in a crescent phase. Terry Tempest Williams strongermoonyears If we fail in this country, it is because we are too timid. If we lose our way in America, it is because we are too complacent. We must become conscious to the real threats before us and act creatively, imaginatively, now. We can no longer look to leadership beyond ourselves. Terry Tempest Williams realcountryamerica It's strange how deserts turn us into believers. I believe in walking in a landscape of mirages, because you learn humility. I believe in living in a land of little water because life is drawn together. And I believe in the gathering of bones as a testament to spirits that have moved on. If the desert is holy, it is because it is a forgotten place that allows us to remember the sacred. Perhaps that is why every pilgrimage to the desert is a pilgrimage to the self. Terry Tempest Williams humilityselfbelieve For me, it always comes back to the land, respecting the land, the wildlife, the plants, the rivers, mountains, and deserts, the absolute essential bedrock of our lives. This is the source of where my power lies, the source of where all our power lies. We are animal. We are Earth. We are water. We are a community of human beings living on this planet together. And we forget that. We become disconnected, we lose our center point of gravity, that stillness that allows us to listen to life on a deeper level and to meet each other in a fully authentic and present way. Terry Tempest Williams animalwaterlying Our sense of community and compassionate intelligence must be extended to all life forms, plants, animals, rocks, rivers, and human beings. This is the story of our past and it will be the story of our future. Terry Tempest Williams natureanimalpast The question I'm constantly asking myself is: what are we afraid of? I think it's important for us to follow that line of fear, because that is ultimately our line of growth. Terry Tempest Williams growthimportantthinking If you take away all the prairie dogs, there will be no one to cry for the rain. Terry Tempest Williams crydograin
