--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A flower is your cousin...Sometimes a…" description: "\"A flower is your cousin...Sometimes a person has got to take a life, like a chicken's or a hog's when you need it...But nobody is so hungry they need t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a4/barbara-kingsolver-200_cherokee_a-flower-is-your-cousin-sometimes-a-pers_1273023.png" --- # A flower is your cousin...Sometimes a person has got to… ![“A flower is your cousin...Sometimes a person has got to take a life, like a chicken's or a hog's when you need it...But nobody is so hungry they need to kill a flower. Cherokee great-grandmother” quote by Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a4/barbara-kingsolver-200_cherokee_a-flower-is-your-cousin-sometimes-a-pers_1273023.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a4/barbara-kingsolver-200_cherokee_a-flower-is-your-cousin-sometimes-a-pers_1273023.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a4/barbara-kingsolver-200_cherokee_a-flower-is-your-cousin-sometimes-a-pers_1273023.png) > “A flower is your cousin...Sometimes a person has got to take a life, like a chicken's or a hog's when you need it...But nobody is so hungry they need to kill a flower. Cherokee great-grandmother” [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Survival may require taking life, but respect for life remains essential. **In simple terms:** Balance necessity with respect. Key Takeaway Respect life while meeting needs. Themes ethics survival respect for life Mood thoughtful ethical Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - hunting - farming - resource use Key Concepts moral philosophy ecology Questions to Reflect On - When is taking life justified? - How can we honor life in survival? A Different Perspective Overexploitation harms ecosystems. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cherokee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cherokee/) [Flower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flower/) [Gardening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gardening/) [Grandmother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grandmother/) [Great grandmother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-grandmother/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Plant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plant/) [Your cousin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/your-cousin/) ## Related quotes > [“Why kill a flower when you can kill a human instead?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jocelynn-drake/why-kill-a-flower-when-you-can-kill-a-human-instead/) [Jocelynn Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jocelynn-drake/) > [I never call myself a Kennedy cousin. In fact, when I signed my contract with Bravo, I made it very clear that they were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carole-radziwill/i-never-call-myself-a-kennedy-cousin-in-fact-when-i-signed-my/) [Carole Radziwill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carole-radziwill/) > [When I used to go on the Wikipedia page, and I haven't gone on the page in a while, there used to be some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demetri-martin/when-i-used-to-go-on-the-wikipedia-page-and-i-haven-t-gone-on-the/) [Demetri Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demetri-martin/) > [Where do you come from?"...This is the number one most-asked question in all of South Carolina. We want to know if you are one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/where-do-you-come-from-this-is-the-number-one-most-asked-question-in/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [He's just, your cousin, ay, abhorrently, He'd wash his hands in blood, to keep them clean.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-barrett-browning/he-s-just-your-cousin-ay-abhorrently-he-d-wash-his-hands-in-blood-to/) [Elizabeth Barrett Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-barrett-browning/) > [Sometimes family doesn't always consist of your relatives or by blood. Sometimes your best friends can feel more like family than your cousins. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-b-jordan/sometimes-family-doesn-t-always-consist-of-your-relatives-or-by-blood/) [Michael B. Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-b-jordan/) > [Well, in Colombia everybody's very voluptuous, and you're supposed to be. You don't want to be skinny when all of your cousins are mermaids.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sofia-vergara/well-in-colombia-everybody-s-very-voluptuous-and-you-re-supposed-to/) [Sofia Vergara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sofia-vergara/) > [You said your cousin was a necromancer. You know how the natural necromancers operate?" They twisted the head off your favorite doll, stuffed a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilona-andrews/you-said-your-cousin-was-a-necromancer-you-know-how-the-natural/) [Ilona Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilona-andrews/) > [And," added Mikey. "she's my sister." The others looked at him for a moment, and broke out laughing. "Yeah, yeah," Squirrel scoffed, "and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-shusterman/and-added-mikey-she-s-my-sister-the-others-looked-at-him-for-a-moment/) [Neal Shusterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-shusterman/) > [What do I look like, the ghost whisperer? They're loony. I'd have better luck talking to my cousin Alfonso's Chihuahua. At least Tía Juana…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darynda-jones/what-do-i-look-like-the-ghost-whisperer-they-re-loony-i-d-have-better/) [Darynda Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darynda-jones/) > [Your cousin might be a pretty face, but you, my darling, courageous, maddening, seductive, mysterious, wonderful Diana, you are the Duchess of Wakefield. My…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-hoyt/your-cousin-might-be-a-pretty-face-but-you-my-darling-courageous/) [Elizabeth Hoyt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-hoyt/) > [people see so many movies that when they finally see one not so bad as the others, they think it's great. an Academy Award…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/people-see-so-many-movies-that-when-they-finally-see-one-not-so-bad/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [Sometimes funerals can be good. It reunites you with your cousins you haven't seen in a while.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-burtka/sometimes-funerals-can-be-good-it-reunites-you-with-your-cousins-you/) [David Burtka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-burtka/) > [Everybody I've ever met was destroyed by a member of the opposite sex early on and that damage you took into every relationship after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-titus/everybody-i-ve-ever-met-was-destroyed-by-a-member-of-the-opposite-sex/) [Christopher Titus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-titus/) > [I ought to tell you I'm probably your cousin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/i-ought-to-tell-you-i-m-probably-your-cousin/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) ## More by Barbara Kingsolver > [“Jesus was a more reliable backer, evidently, less likely to drink himself unconscious or get liver cancer. No wonder people chose Him as their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/jesus-was-a-more-reliable-backer-evidently-less-likely-to-drink/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [Now I'm starting to think he wasn't supposed to be my whole life, he was just this doorway to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/now-i-m-starting-to-think-he-wasn-t-supposed-to-be-my-whole-life-he/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [Cooking is 80 percent confidence, a skill best acquired starting from when the apron strings wrap around you twice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/cooking-is-80-percent-confidence-a-skill-best-acquired-starting-from/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“In Bobby Ogle's version of heaven everyone would wind up in one place, criminals and Muslims included.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/in-bobby-ogle-s-version-of-heaven-everyone-would-wind-up-in-one-place/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“Weeds are job security for the gardener.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/weeds-are-job-security-for-the-gardener/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“It's what you do that makes your soul, not the other way around.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/it-s-what-you-do-that-makes-your-soul-not-the-other-way-around/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“Lusa turned to Crys, her eyes shining. "That was a luna." Crys shrugged. "So?" "So? So what? You want it should sing, too?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/lusa-turned-to-crys-her-eyes-shining-that-was-a-luna-crys-shrugged-so/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [The strength of motherhood is greater than natural laws.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/the-strength-of-motherhood-is-greater-than-natural-laws/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“An imperfectly remembered life is a useless treachery. Every day, more fragments of the past roll around heavily in the chambers of an empty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/an-imperfectly-remembered-life-is-a-useless-treachery-every-day-more/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [Respecting the dignity of a spectacular food means enjoying it at its best. Europeans celebrate the short season of abundant asparagus as a form…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/respecting-the-dignity-of-a-spectacular-food-means-enjoying-it-at-its/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“Somehow it had come to pass that this man was her whole world, and she had failed to take his measure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/somehow-it-had-come-to-pass-that-this-man-was-her-whole-world-and-she/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [After 'The Poisonwood Bible' was published, several people believed that my parents were missionaries, which could not be further from the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/after-the-poisonwood-bible-was-published-several-people-believed-that/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [I can count all the ways in which being a mother has enriched my understanding of the world, of character, my sense of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/i-can-count-all-the-ways-in-which-being-a-mother-has-enriched-my/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [But we've all ended up giving body and soul to Africa, one way or another. Even Adah, who's becoming an expert in tropical epidemiology…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/but-we-ve-all-ended-up-giving-body-and-soul-to-africa-one-way-or/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [If the Lord hasn't got a boyfriend lined up for me to marry, that's his business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/if-the-lord-hasn-t-got-a-boyfriend-lined-up-for-me-to-marry-that-s/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) [Explore all 939 Barbara Kingsolver quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) ## More Cherokee quotes > [Lt. Carson: My grandmother was a full-bodied Cherokee Indian. Lili: How exciting. Lt. Carson: It was for my grandfather.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/lt-carson-my-grandmother-was-a-full-bodied-cherokee-indian-lili-how/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Everything an Indian does is in a circle, and that is because the power of the world always works in circles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/black-elk/everything-an-indian-does-is-in-a-circle-and-that-is-because-the/) [Black Elk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/black-elk/) > [“I come from a family of Cherokee master storytellers. Listening to stories, reading them, and creating new tales is my life. These tales reveal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-ann-barton/i-come-from-a-family-of-cherokee-master-storytellers-listening-to/) Louise Ann Barton > [Give me strength, not to be better than my enemies, but to defeat my greatest enemy, the doubts within myself. Give me strength for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/give-me-strength-not-to-be-better-than-my-enemies-but-to-defeat-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Negative thoughts were treated by Cherokee healers with the same medicines as wounds, headaches, or physical illness. It was believed that unchecked negative thoughts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilma-mankiller/negative-thoughts-were-treated-by-cherokee-healers-with-the-same/) [Wilma Mankiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilma-mankiller/) > [“Cherokee's American, Ned. It don't get more American than that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-d-estleman/cherokee-s-american-ned-it-don-t-get-more-american-than-that/) [Loren D. Estleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-d-estleman/) > [Recorded engine sounds, however, are a deliberate deception. They're like going to a concert and listening to a recording. On the other hand, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/serge-schmemann/recorded-engine-sounds-however-are-a-deliberate-deception-they-re/) [Serge Schmemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/serge-schmemann/) > [A significant number of people believe tribal people still live and dress as they did 300 years ago. During my tenure as principal chief…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilma-mankiller/a-significant-number-of-people-believe-tribal-people-still-live-and/) [Wilma Mankiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilma-mankiller/) > [I'm just another non-native whose mom told him we were part-Cherokee.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-kamau-bell/i-m-just-another-non-native-whose-mom-told-him-we-were-part-cherokee/) [W. Kamau Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-kamau-bell/) > [My father was one-eighth Cherokee indian and my mother was quarter-blood Cherokee. I never got far enough in arithmetic to figure out how much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/my-father-was-one-eighth-cherokee-indian-and-my-mother-was-quarter/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [My name is Mankiller, and in the old Cherokee Nation, when we lived here in the Southeast, we lived in semi-autonomous villages, and there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilma-mankiller/my-name-is-mankiller-and-in-the-old-cherokee-nation-when-we-lived/) [Wilma Mankiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilma-mankiller/) > [ \[last words\] What is life? It is the flash of a firefly in the night. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crowfoot/last-words-what-is-life-it-is-the-flash-of-a-firefly-in-the-night/) [Crowfoot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crowfoot/) > [What is life? It is the flash of a firefly in the night. It is the breath of a buffalo in the winter time.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crowfoot/what-is-life-it-is-the-flash-of-a-firefly-in-the-night-it-is-the-2/) [Crowfoot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crowfoot/) > [I'm Irish and Cherokee Indian. I can't faint.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-collins/i-m-irish-and-cherokee-indian-i-can-t-faint/) [Lynn Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-collins/) > [Individually and collectively, Cherokee people possess an extraordinary ability to face down adversity and continue moving forward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilma-mankiller/individually-and-collectively-cherokee-people-possess-an/) [Wilma Mankiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilma-mankiller/) [Browse all 56 Cherokee quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cherokee/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A flower is your cousin...Sometimes a person has got to take a life, like a chicken's or a hog's when you need it...But nobody is so hungry they need to kill a flower. 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