--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We know we cannot plant seeds with closed…" description: "\"We know we cannot plant seeds with closed fists. To sow, we must open our hands.\" — Adolfo Perez Esquivel" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/217/adolfo-perez-esquivel-37914_cannot_we-know-we-cannot-plant-seeds-with-close_2446852.png" --- # We know we cannot plant seeds with closed fists. To sow… ![“We know we cannot plant seeds with closed fists. To sow, we must open our hands.” quote by Adolfo Perez Esquivel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/217/adolfo-perez-esquivel-37914_cannot_we-know-we-cannot-plant-seeds-with-close_2446852.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/217/adolfo-perez-esquivel-37914_cannot_we-know-we-cannot-plant-seeds-with-close_2446852.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/217/adolfo-perez-esquivel-37914_cannot_we-know-we-cannot-plant-seeds-with-close_2446852.png) > “We know we cannot plant seeds with closed fists. To sow, we must open our hands.” [Adolfo Perez Esquivel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolfo-perez-esquivel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. You cannot achieve growth or creation with closed, restrictive approaches; openness is required to nurture. **In simple terms:** Open hands to plant seeds. Key Takeaway Adopt openness for growth. Themes growth openness action Mood hopeful inspirational Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - team building - creative projects - community outreach Key Concepts metaphor agriculture psychology Questions to Reflect On - What are you holding onto that blocks progress? - How can vulnerability become strength? A Different Perspective Closed fists may symbolize protection, not just restriction. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Plant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plant/) [Plant Seeds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plant-seeds/) ## Related quotes > [We cannot sow seeds with clenched fists. To sow we must open our hands.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolfo-perez-esquivel/we-cannot-sow-seeds-with-clenched-fists-to-sow-we-must-open-our-hands/) [Adolfo Perez Esquivel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolfo-perez-esquivel/) > [We must apply our humble efforts to the construction of a more just and humane world. And I want to declare emphatically: Such a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolfo-perez-esquivel/we-must-apply-our-humble-efforts-to-the-construction-of-a-more-just/) [Adolfo Perez Esquivel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolfo-perez-esquivel/) > [“In life, we plant seeds everywhere we go. Some fall on fertile ground needing very little to grow. Some fall on rocky soil requiring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanjo-jendayi/in-life-we-plant-seeds-everywhere-we-go-some-fall-on-fertile-ground/) [Sanjo Jendayi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanjo-jendayi/) > [“mouth open, hands extended.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/mouth-open-hands-extended/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [Grace is a free gift of God, but to receive a gift you must have open hands.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-yancey/grace-is-a-free-gift-of-god-but-to-receive-a-gift-you-must-have-open/) [Philip Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-yancey/) > [This is how you hold onto your family. You hold them with open hands so they are free to find futures of their own.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-peck/this-is-how-you-hold-onto-your-family-you-hold-them-with-open-hands/) [Richard Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-peck/) > [South Africa is blessed to have women and men like yourselves who have little to give but give what you have with open hands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mangosuthu-buthelezi/south-africa-is-blessed-to-have-women-and-men-like-yourselves-who/) [Mangosuthu Buthelezi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mangosuthu-buthelezi/) > [“Your Lord pries open your hands and takes away your crutches and distractions. He exposes your weaknesses so that you will cry out for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-david-tripp/your-lord-pries-open-your-hands-and-takes-away-your-crutches-and/) [Paul David Tripp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-david-tripp/) > [“There is nothing more beautiful than a vulnerable heart in open hands.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-mosher/there-is-nothing-more-beautiful-than-a-vulnerable-heart-in-open-hands/) [Amanda Mosher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-mosher/) > [There are still things I want to do but they're not necessary for me to do. I'm not clinging to anything that I can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morris-west/there-are-still-things-i-want-to-do-but-they-re-not-necessary-for-me/) [Morris West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morris-west/) > [There is a community of the spirit . . . Open your hands if you want to be held . . . Move outside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/there-is-a-community-of-the-spirit-open-your-hands-if-you-want-to-be/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [Take a look at those two open hands of yours. They are tools with which to serve, make friends, and reach out for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilferd-peterson/take-a-look-at-those-two-open-hands-of-yours-they-are-tools-with/) [Wilferd Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilferd-peterson/) > [Open your hands if you want to be held.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/open-your-hands-if-you-want-to-be-held/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [Everything in life is most fundamentally a gift. And you receive it best and you live it best by holding it with very open…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-j-o-donovan/everything-in-life-is-most-fundamentally-a-gift-and-you-receive-it/) Leo J. O'Donovan > [Father Break my heart for what breaks yours Give me open hands and open doors Put your light in my eyes and let me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-west/father-break-my-heart-for-what-breaks-yours-give-me-open-hands-and/) [Matthew West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-west/) ## More by Adolfo Perez Esquivel > [Reflection is only a partial understanding of truth if it does not translate itself in practice into commitments to the common good and justice.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolfo-perez-esquivel/reflection-is-only-a-partial-understanding-of-truth-if-it-does-not/) [Adolfo Perez Esquivel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolfo-perez-esquivel/) > [We cannot sow seeds with clenched fists. To sow we must open our hands.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolfo-perez-esquivel/we-cannot-sow-seeds-with-clenched-fists-to-sow-we-must-open-our-hands/) [Adolfo Perez Esquivel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolfo-perez-esquivel/) > [We must apply our humble efforts to the construction of a more just and humane world. And I want to declare emphatically: Such a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolfo-perez-esquivel/we-must-apply-our-humble-efforts-to-the-construction-of-a-more-just/) [Adolfo Perez Esquivel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolfo-perez-esquivel/) > [For me, it is essential to have the inner peace and serenity of prayer in order to listen to the silence of God, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolfo-perez-esquivel/for-me-it-is-essential-to-have-the-inner-peace-and-serenity-of-prayer/) [Adolfo Perez Esquivel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolfo-perez-esquivel/) > [Consider in 1945, when the United Nations was first formed, there were something like fifty-one original member countries. Now the United Nations is made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolfo-perez-esquivel/consider-in-1945-when-the-united-nations-was-first-formed-there-were/) [Adolfo Perez Esquivel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolfo-perez-esquivel/) > [The best power of all is to be free, but Obama is not a free person. He is a prisoner of a military system.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolfo-perez-esquivel/the-best-power-of-all-is-to-be-free-but-obama-is-not-a-free-person-he/) [Adolfo Perez Esquivel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolfo-perez-esquivel/) > [... we believe in the vocation of communion and participation of our people, who day to day awaken to their political conscience and express…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolfo-perez-esquivel/we-believe-in-the-vocation-of-communion-and-participation-of-our/) [Adolfo Perez Esquivel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolfo-perez-esquivel/) > [There is such thing as a 'smart bomb' - bombs are smart these days, you know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolfo-perez-esquivel/there-is-such-thing-as-a-smart-bomb-bombs-are-smart-these-days-you/) [Adolfo Perez Esquivel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolfo-perez-esquivel/) > [We know that peace is only possible when it is the fruit of justice. True peace is a profound transformation by means of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolfo-perez-esquivel/we-know-that-peace-is-only-possible-when-it-is-the-fruit-of-justice/) [Adolfo Perez Esquivel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolfo-perez-esquivel/) > [Don't stand back with your arms folded; step forward... There is hope and light to resist injustice and promote peace without violence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolfo-perez-esquivel/don-t-stand-back-with-your-arms-folded-step-forward-there-is-hope-and/) [Adolfo Perez Esquivel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolfo-perez-esquivel/) > [Nonviolence is absolute respect for each human being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolfo-perez-esquivel/nonviolence-is-absolute-respect-for-each-human-being/) [Adolfo Perez Esquivel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolfo-perez-esquivel/) [Explore all 12 Adolfo Perez Esquivel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolfo-perez-esquivel/) ## More Cannot quotes > [The United States cannot and should not discriminate on the basis of religion. The free exercise of religion is at the very heart of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-pence/the-united-states-cannot-and-should-not-discriminate-on-the-basis-of/) [Mike Pence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-pence/) > [Racism is a cancer. You cannot ignore it and it'll go away. If you ignore cancer, it simply metastasizes and consumes the whole body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-davis/racism-is-a-cancer-you-cannot-ignore-it-and-it-ll-go-away-if-you/) [Daryl Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-davis/) > [The book is not simply the object that one holds in one's hands, and it cannot remain within the little parallelpiped that contains it:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-foucault/the-book-is-not-simply-the-object-that-one-holds-in-one-s-hands-and/) [Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/) > [Nothing is more private than a woman's body; it is her physical, emotional, and moral citadel. She cannot be free at all if she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-b-smedes/nothing-is-more-private-than-a-woman-s-body-it-is-her-physical/) [Lewis B. 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To be liberty, rights must be armed with vital…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucius-quintus-cincinnatus-lamar-ii/liberty-does-not-exist-where-rights-are-on-one-side-and-power-on-the/) [Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucius-quintus-cincinnatus-lamar-ii/) > [The reason I fight is to provide for my family, and I cannot risk having that taken away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-whittaker/the-reason-i-fight-is-to-provide-for-my-family-and-i-cannot-risk/) [Robert Whittaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-whittaker/) > [We cannot have players who don't give their soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennaro-gattuso/we-cannot-have-players-who-don-t-give-their-soul/) [Gennaro Gattuso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennaro-gattuso/) > [I cannot do confrontation. You know that fight or flight thing? I'm flight. I just don't want the argument.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-saunders/i-cannot-do-confrontation-you-know-that-fight-or-flight-thing-i-m/) [Jennifer Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-saunders/) > [Rahul Gandhi cannot be a prime minister because he is a citizen of Britain, and his Indian citizenship will be cancelled; he won't even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/subramanian-swamy/rahul-gandhi-cannot-be-a-prime-minister-because-he-is-a-citizen-of/) [Subramanian Swamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/subramanian-swamy/) Browse all 2,691 Cannot quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We know we cannot plant seeds with closed fists. 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