--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And after we returned to the savannahs…" description: "\"And after we returned to the savannahs and abandoned the trees, did we long for those great graceful leaps and ecstatic moments of weightlessness in th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9bb/carl-sagan-160_abandoned_and-after-we-returned-to-the-savannahs-a_1546724.jpg" --- # And after we returned to the savannahs and abandoned the… ![“And after we returned to the savannahs and abandoned the trees, did we long for those great graceful leaps and ecstatic moments of weightlessness in the shafts of sunlight of the forest roof?” quote by Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9bb/carl-sagan-160_abandoned_and-after-we-returned-to-the-savannahs-a_1546724.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9bb/carl-sagan-160_abandoned_and-after-we-returned-to-the-savannahs-a_1546724.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9bb/carl-sagan-160_abandoned_and-after-we-returned-to-the-savannahs-a_1546724.jpg) > “And after we returned to the savannahs and abandoned the trees, did we long for those great graceful leaps and ecstatic moments of weightlessness in the shafts of sunlight of the forest roof?” [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reflects on nostalgia for the freedom and wonder of childhood play in nature after leaving it behind **In simple terms:** Missings the simple joy of carefree movement in natural light Key Takeaway Cherish and seek moments of playful freedom Themes nostalgia freedom nature childhood longing Mood wistalgic reflective Type philosophical contemplative When to use this quote - family outings - school recess - nature retreats - creative play Key Concepts existential longing sensory memory contrast between past and present Questions to Reflect On - What simple activity brings you a sense of weightlessness? - How can you recreate that feeling today? A Different Perspective May romanticize the past and overlook present possibilities ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ecstatic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ecstatic/) [Forests](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forests/) [Leap](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leap/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Savannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/savannah/) [Sunlight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sunlight/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Tree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tree/) [Trees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trees/) [Weightlessness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weightlessness/) ## Related quotes > [Yes, I do talk to my trees. I did say to one 'You'd better smarten yourself up or you'll be gone' and the next…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-heseltine/yes-i-do-talk-to-my-trees-i-did-say-to-one-you-d-better-smarten/) [Michael Heseltine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-heseltine/) > [My dad was somewhat of a naturalist and used to teach us about different birds and trees. So did a fifth grade teacher who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-paulson/my-dad-was-somewhat-of-a-naturalist-and-used-to-teach-us-about/) [Henry Paulson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-paulson/) > [Money doesn't grow on trees, and if it did, someone else would own the orchard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-grizzard/money-doesn-t-grow-on-trees-and-if-it-did-someone-else-would-own-the/) [Lewis Grizzard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-grizzard/) > [Money doesn't grow on trees, and if it did somebody else would own the orchard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-grizzard/money-doesn-t-grow-on-trees-and-if-it-did-somebody-else-would-own-the/) [Lewis Grizzard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-grizzard/) > [“The trees did not reflect the sun so much as glow from within, as though their bark was of parchment, a membrane through which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-a-baker/the-trees-did-not-reflect-the-sun-so-much-as-glow-from-within-as/) [J.A. Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-a-baker/) > [Two hundred miles from the surface of the earth there is no gravity. The laws of motion are suspended. You could turn somersaults slowly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/two-hundred-miles-from-the-surface-of-the-earth-there-is-no-gravity/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [In weightlessness, one of the physiological changes is a fluid shift. Your blood and fluid is equally distributed in your body. So that makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-mullane/in-weightlessness-one-of-the-physiological-changes-is-a-fluid-shift/) [Mike Mullane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-mullane/) > [“In the early days of space travel, one interesting problem emerged from experiments with weightlessness. Americans found that ... normal ink pen would not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-lewycka/in-the-early-days-of-space-travel-one-interesting-problem-emerged/) [Marina Lewycka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-lewycka/) > [I love the feeling of the weightlessness. I always love being in the water and to combine jumping off the side into the water…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-daley/i-love-the-feeling-of-the-weightlessness-i-always-love-being-in-the/) [Tom Daley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-daley/) > [“After six months, you forget how heavy things are. Like, yourself.” You also, after months of weightlessness, forget how to use your legs. “Your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/after-six-months-you-forget-how-heavy-things-are-like-yourself-you/) [Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) > [“There were times, in my search for weightlessness, that I pushed too hard. Drank too much. Inhaled more than I should. Became physical with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-mcgarry/there-were-times-in-my-search-for-weightlessness-that-i-pushed-too/) [Katie McGarry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-mcgarry/) > [The most fun to do in the weightlessness is going down the ladder headfirst, walking on the ceiling, chasing after M&M's that you throw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-garneau/the-most-fun-to-do-in-the-weightlessness-is-going-down-the-ladder/) [Marc Garneau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-garneau/) > [“During weightlessness, many of the letters strayed from the boxes, indicating that pilots might experience difficulties maneuvering their planes and doing crossword puzzles during…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/during-weightlessness-many-of-the-letters-strayed-from-the-boxes/) [Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) > [There's a tremendously satisfying freedom associated with weightlessness. It's challenging in the absence of traction or leverage, and it requires thoughtful readjustment. I found…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buzz-aldrin/there-s-a-tremendously-satisfying-freedom-associated-with/) [Buzz Aldrin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buzz-aldrin/) > [I've used the Phoenix Centrifuge to replicate what the body's going to go through on the flight up. I've also done some gravity tests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/i-ve-used-the-phoenix-centrifuge-to-replicate-what-the-body-s-going/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) ## More by Carl Sagan > [It is sometimes said that scientists are unromantic, that their passion to figure out robs the world of beauty and mystery. But is it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/it-is-sometimes-said-that-scientists-are-unromantic-that-their/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [The prediction of nuclear winter is drawn not, of course, from any direct experience with the consequences of global nuclear war, but rather from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/the-prediction-of-nuclear-winter-is-drawn-not-of-course-from-any/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [The suppression of uncomfortable ideas may be common in religion or in politics, but it is not the path to knowledge; it has no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/the-suppression-of-uncomfortable-ideas-may-be-common-in-religion-or/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“Telepathy’ literally means to feel at a distance, just as ‘telephone’ is to hear at a distance and ‘television’ is to see at a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/telepathy-literally-means-to-feel-at-a-distance-just-as-telephone-is/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“On the scale of worlds—to say nothing of stars or galaxies—humans are inconsequential, a thin film of life on an obscure and solitary lump…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/on-the-scale-of-worlds-to-say-nothing-of-stars-or-galaxies-humans-are/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Every one of us is, in the cosmic perspective, precious. If a human disagrees with you, let him live. In a hundred billion galaxies,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/every-one-of-us-is-in-the-cosmic-perspective-precious-if-a-human/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [In our time, we have sifted the sands of Mars, we have established a presence there, we have fulfilled a century of dreams!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/in-our-time-we-have-sifted-the-sands-of-mars-we-have-established-a/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [ “\[ When a religious couple wrote to Sagan about fulfilled prophecies, he wrote back in May 1996 :\] If ‘fulfilled prophecy’ is your criterion,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/when-a-religious-couple-wrote-to-sagan-about-fulfilled-prophecies-he/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Don't judge everyone else by your own limited experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/don-t-judge-everyone-else-by-your-own-limited-experience/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“Books permit us to voyage through time, to tap the wisdom of our ancestors. The library connects us with the insight and knowledge, painfully…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/books-permit-us-to-voyage-through-time-to-tap-the-wisdom-of-our/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [We live on a hunk of rock and metal that circles a humdrum star that is one of 400 billion other stars that make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/we-live-on-a-hunk-of-rock-and-metal-that-circles-a-humdrum-star-that/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [A tiny blue dot set in a sunbeam. Here it is. That's where we live. That's home. We humans are one species and this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/a-tiny-blue-dot-set-in-a-sunbeam-here-it-is-that-s-where-we-live-that/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Any sufficiently crisp question can be answered by a single binary digit-0 or 1, yes or no.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/any-sufficiently-crisp-question-can-be-answered-by-a-single-binary/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Humans — who enslave, castrate, experiment on, and fillet other animals — have had an understandable penchant for pretending animals do not feel pain.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/humans-who-enslave-castrate-experiment-on-and-fillet-other-animals/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Every star may be a sun to someone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/every-star-may-be-a-sun-to-someone/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) [Explore all 1,043 Carl Sagan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) ## More Abandoned quotes > [“I'm surprised when I walk right into yet another abandoned hunters' camp. Tattered plastic sheeting still hangs askew here and there. Blackened aerosol cans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-bass/i-m-surprised-when-i-walk-right-into-yet-another-abandoned-hunters/) [Rick Bass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-bass/) > [It’s hard to feel attracted to someone who has abandoned her sense of autonomy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-perel/it-s-hard-to-feel-attracted-to-someone-who-has-abandoned-her-sense-of/) [Esther Perel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-perel/) > [When good media takes a bounded form, and comes once in a period of time, it begs to be consumed as a whole -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-battelle/when-good-media-takes-a-bounded-form-and-comes-once-in-a-period-of/) [John Battelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-battelle/) > [In Russia there is an emigration of intelligence: émigrés cross the frontier in order to read and to write good books. But in doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/in-russia-there-is-an-emigration-of-intelligence-migr-s-cross-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Early on in my life, I had a broken soul. I was abused by my father, abandoned by my mother and ended up in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-meyer/early-on-in-my-life-i-had-a-broken-soul-i-was-abused-by-my-father/) [Joyce Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-meyer/) > [We should be recklessly abandoned to Jesus, and just turn it over to Him. Through the support I think the sacrifices will be made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacie-orrico/we-should-be-recklessly-abandoned-to-jesus-and-just-turn-it-over-to/) [Stacie Orrico](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacie-orrico/) > [In the eyes of those lovers of perfection, a work is never finished a word that for them has no sense but abandoned; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/in-the-eyes-of-those-lovers-of-perfection-a-work-is-never-finished-a/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [The whole force of the respectable circles to which I belonged, that respectable circle which knew as I did notthe value of security won,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-tarbell/the-whole-force-of-the-respectable-circles-to-which-i-belonged-that/) [Ida Tarbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-tarbell/) > [Barack Obama became president, and he abandoned Iraq. He left, and when he left Al Qaida was done for. ISIS was created because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeb-bush/barack-obama-became-president-and-he-abandoned-iraq-he-left-and-when/) [Jeb Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeb-bush/) > [“The desperate loneliness is nothing compared to the torture of falling in love and then being abandoned.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-nuest/the-desperate-loneliness-is-nothing-compared-to-the-torture-of/) A.J. Nuest > [Through it all, this wild life on and off the road , through Jordanian deserts , Spanish islands, German prisons, Caribbean tax scams, halls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-burdon/through-it-all-this-wild-life-on-and-off-the-road-through-jordanian/) [Eric Burdon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-burdon/) > [I've never been keen on open adoption. It doesn't seem to solve the main problem with adoption, which is that somebody feels she was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-ve-never-been-keen-on-open-adoption-it-doesn-t-seem-to-solve-the/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [Blacks abandoned morals, fathers, and real belief in God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-lee-peterson/blacks-abandoned-morals-fathers-and-real-belief-in-god/) [Jesse Lee Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-lee-peterson/) > [I just feel abandoned. And I feel, I don't feel represented by the Republican Party. I have always had to defend the social side…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-johnson/i-just-feel-abandoned-and-i-feel-i-don-t-feel-represented-by-the/) [Gary Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-johnson/) > [While society cannot provide employment for its members, the production/work/income nexus has to be abandoned as a justification for our present parsimony to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-hawke/while-society-cannot-provide-employment-for-its-members-the/) [Bob Hawke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-hawke/) Browse all 932 Abandoned quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "And after we returned to the savannahs and abandoned the trees, did we long for those great graceful leaps and ecstatic moments of weightlessness in the shafts of sunlight of the forest roof?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Carl Sagan" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/and-after-we-returned-to-the-savannahs-and-abandoned-the-trees-did-we/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Abandoned" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/and-after-we-returned-to-the-savannahs-and-abandoned-the-trees-did-we/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9bb/carl-sagan-160_abandoned_and-after-we-returned-to-the-savannahs-a_1546724.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9bb/carl-sagan-160_abandoned_and-after-we-returned-to-the-savannahs-a_1546724.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9bb/carl-sagan-160_abandoned_and-after-we-returned-to-the-savannahs-a_1546724.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“And after we returned to the savannahs and abandoned the trees, did we long for those great graceful leaps…” — Carl Sagan", "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": "Carl Sagan", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "And after we returned to the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/and-after-we-returned-to-the-savannahs-and-abandoned-the-trees-did-we/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/and-after-we-returned-to-the-savannahs-and-abandoned-the-trees-did-we/#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 } } ] } ```