--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You will begin to realize that if you…" description: "\"You will begin to realize that if you contemplate long enough on the leaf of the flower, that it involves the whole universe.\" — Alan Watts" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fab/alan-watts-587_contemplating_you-will-begin-to-realize-that-if-you-co_1665893.jpg" --- # You will begin to realize that if you contemplate long… ![“You will begin to realize that if you contemplate long enough on the leaf of the flower, that it involves the whole universe.” quote by Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fab/alan-watts-587_contemplating_you-will-begin-to-realize-that-if-you-co_1665893.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fab/alan-watts-587_contemplating_you-will-begin-to-realize-that-if-you-co_1665893.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fab/alan-watts-587_contemplating_you-will-begin-to-realize-that-if-you-co_1665893.jpg) > “You will begin to realize that if you contemplate long enough on the leaf of the flower, that it involves the whole universe.” [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Contemplating a flower reveals its connection to the entire cosmos, illustrating unity. **In simple terms:** A leaf reflects the whole universe. Key Takeaway See the universal in the small. Themes nature unity philosophy Mood contemplative wonderful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - garden meditation - science education - spiritual practice Key Concepts holism interconnectedness mindfulness Questions to Reflect On - How does a small detail reveal larger truths? - Can you find cosmic meaning in daily life? A Different Perspective Over‑analysis may obscure simplicity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Contemplate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contemplate/) [Contemplate Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contemplate-long-655939/) [Contemplating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contemplating/) [Enough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enough/) [Flower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flower/) [Flower Involves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flower-involves-808284/) [Gardening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gardening/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Involves Universe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/involves-universe-808282/) [Leafs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leafs/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [Realize Contemplate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realize-contemplate-808283/) [Realizing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realizing/) [Universe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universe/) [Whole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whole/) ## Related quotes > [If you cannot observe it, then you must meditate, contemplate and imagine it. It is wondrous that if you contemplate long enough, then eventually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-chang/if-you-cannot-observe-it-then-you-must-meditate-contemplate-and/) [Henry Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-chang/) > [Let man then contemplate the whole of nature in her full and grand majesty... No idea approaches it. We may enlarge our conceptions beyond…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/let-man-then-contemplate-the-whole-of-nature-in-her-full-and-grand/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [Contemplate nature with the eyes of the soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soljeannette-acevedo/contemplate-nature-with-the-eyes-of-the-soul/) [Soljeannette Acevedo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soljeannette-acevedo/) > [“Contemplate for a moment hiking up a wild and rugged mountain. 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We seldom lift up our heads to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-levin/like-most-musicians-im-good-at-becoming-immersed-in-the-music-that-i/) [Tony Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-levin/) > [ \[When nature appears complicated:\] The moment we contemplate it as it is, and attain a position from which we can take a commanding view,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-herschel/when-nature-appears-complicated-the-moment-we-contemplate-it-as-it-is/) [John Herschel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-herschel/) > [Nothing makes the future look so rosy as to contemplate it through a glass of Chambertin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/nothing-makes-the-future-look-so-rosy-as-to-contemplate-it-through-a/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [ \[The lion\] began to contemplate me with a kind of quiet premeditation, like that of a slow-witted man fondling an unaccustomed thought. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-markham/the-lion-began-to-contemplate-me-with-a-kind-of-quiet-premeditation/) [Beryl Markham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beryl-markham/) > [“The value of anything is only relative in the moment of contemplating it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-redhead/the-value-of-anything-is-only-relative-in-the-moment-of-contemplating/) [Steven Redhead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-redhead/) > [It is truly bracing and instructive to contemplate the End Times - at least at safe remove, in the pages of fiction - especially…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-di-filippo/it-is-truly-bracing-and-instructive-to-contemplate-the-end-times-at/) [Paul Di Filippo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-di-filippo/) > [So many hours must I take my rest; So many hours must I contemplate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/so-many-hours-must-i-take-my-rest-so-many-hours-must-i-contemplate/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Did you ever notice when you contemplate suicide, the hardest things to remember are why you've come this far to begin with? me either.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/did-you-ever-notice-when-you-contemplate-suicide-the-hardest-things/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The two hardest things to contemplate in life ... are failure and age; those are one and the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-two-hardest-things-to-contemplate-in-life-are-failure-and-age/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I have actually seen people contemplate their navels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-heilpern/i-have-actually-seen-people-contemplate-their-navels/) [John Heilpern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-heilpern/) > [“Those who contemplate never escape the doubt.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-mankell/those-who-contemplate-never-escape-the-doubt/) [Henning Mankell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-mankell/) ## More by Alan Watts > [“The self-conscious feedback mechanism of the cortex allows us the hallucination that we are two souls in one body -a rational soul and an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/the-self-conscious-feedback-mechanism-of-the-cortex-allows-us-the/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [The more we try to catch hold of the present moment the more elusive it becomes. It is like trying to clutch water in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/the-more-we-try-to-catch-hold-of-the-present-moment-the-more-elusive/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [The Universe is the game of the self, which plays hide and seek forever and ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/the-universe-is-the-game-of-the-self-which-plays-hide-and-seek/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [If my happiness at this moment consists largely in reviewing happy memories and expectations, I am but dimly aware of this present. 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Just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/as-you-make-more-and-more-powerful-microscopic-instruments-the/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [We are at the moment looking at space as something to be entered by the tremendous thrust of a rocket because that is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/we-are-at-the-moment-looking-at-space-as-something-to-be-entered-by/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [A philosopher is a sort of intellectual yokel who gawks at things that sensible people take for granted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/a-philosopher-is-a-sort-of-intellectual-yokel-who-gawks-at-things/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [The best way to convince someone is by making him realize that what you speak came from his own mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/the-best-way-to-convince-someone-is-by-making-him-realize-that-what/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [The myths underlying our culture and underlying our common sense have not taught us to feel identical with the universe, but only parts of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/the-myths-underlying-our-culture-and-underlying-our-common-sense-have/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [To feel that life is meaningless unless “I” can be permanent is like having fallen desperately in love with an inch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/to-feel-that-life-is-meaningless-unless-i-can-be-permanent-is-like/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) [Explore all 460 Alan Watts quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) ## More Contemplate quotes > [“Those who contemplate never escape the doubt.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-mankell/those-who-contemplate-never-escape-the-doubt/) [Henning Mankell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-mankell/) > [I have actually seen people contemplate their navels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-heilpern/i-have-actually-seen-people-contemplate-their-navels/) [John Heilpern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-heilpern/) > [The two hardest things to contemplate in life ... are failure and age; those are one and the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-two-hardest-things-to-contemplate-in-life-are-failure-and-age/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Did you ever notice when you contemplate suicide, the hardest things to remember are why you've come this far to begin with? me either.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/did-you-ever-notice-when-you-contemplate-suicide-the-hardest-things/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [So many hours must I take my rest; So many hours must I contemplate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/so-many-hours-must-i-take-my-rest-so-many-hours-must-i-contemplate/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [It is truly bracing and instructive to contemplate the End Times - at least at safe remove, in the pages of fiction - especially…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-di-filippo/it-is-truly-bracing-and-instructive-to-contemplate-the-end-times-at/) [Paul Di Filippo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-di-filippo/) > [“The value of anything is only relative in the moment of contemplating it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-redhead/the-value-of-anything-is-only-relative-in-the-moment-of-contemplating/) [Steven Redhead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-redhead/) > [ \[The lion\] began to contemplate me with a kind of quiet premeditation, like that of a slow-witted man fondling an unaccustomed thought. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-markham/the-lion-began-to-contemplate-me-with-a-kind-of-quiet-premeditation/) [Beryl Markham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beryl-markham/) > [Nothing makes the future look so rosy as to contemplate it through a glass of Chambertin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/nothing-makes-the-future-look-so-rosy-as-to-contemplate-it-through-a/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [ \[When nature appears complicated:\] The moment we contemplate it as it is, and attain a position from which we can take a commanding view,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-herschel/when-nature-appears-complicated-the-moment-we-contemplate-it-as-it-is/) [John Herschel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-herschel/) > [Like most musicians, Im good at becoming immersed in the music that I am currently working on. We seldom lift up our heads to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-levin/like-most-musicians-im-good-at-becoming-immersed-in-the-music-that-i/) [Tony Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-levin/) > [“Contemplate for a moment hiking up a wild and rugged mountain. The mountain itself is a challenge, as well as the experience of beauty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-sanchez/contemplate-for-a-moment-hiking-up-a-wild-and-rugged-mountain-the/) [Steve Sanchez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-sanchez/) > [Contemplate nature with the eyes of the soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soljeannette-acevedo/contemplate-nature-with-the-eyes-of-the-soul/) [Soljeannette Acevedo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soljeannette-acevedo/) > [Let man then contemplate the whole of nature in her full and grand majesty... No idea approaches it. We may enlarge our conceptions beyond…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/let-man-then-contemplate-the-whole-of-nature-in-her-full-and-grand/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [“It was not easy to commit suicide as to contemplate it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/it-was-not-easy-to-commit-suicide-as-to-contemplate-it/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) [Browse all 217 Contemplate quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contemplate/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You will begin to realize that if you contemplate long enough on the leaf of the flower, that it involves the whole universe.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alan Watts" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/you-will-begin-to-realize-that-if-you-contemplate-long-enough-on-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Contemplate" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/you-will-begin-to-realize-that-if-you-contemplate-long-enough-on-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fab/alan-watts-587_contemplating_you-will-begin-to-realize-that-if-you-co_1665893.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fab/alan-watts-587_contemplating_you-will-begin-to-realize-that-if-you-co_1665893.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fab/alan-watts-587_contemplating_you-will-begin-to-realize-that-if-you-co_1665893.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You will begin to realize that if you contemplate long enough on the leaf of the flower, that it involves…” — Alan Watts", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Alan Watts", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "You will begin to realize that...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/you-will-begin-to-realize-that-if-you-contemplate-long-enough-on-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/you-will-begin-to-realize-that-if-you-contemplate-long-enough-on-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```