--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A man has made at least a start on…" description: "\"A man has made at least a start on discovering the meaning of human life when he plants shade trees under which he knows full well he will never sit.\" ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1cd/d-elton-trueblood-26225_flower_a-man-has-made-at-least-a-start-on-disco_2053265.png" --- # A man has made at least a start on discovering the meaning… ![“A man has made at least a start on discovering the meaning of human life when he plants shade trees under which he knows full well he will never sit.” quote by D. Elton Trueblood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1cd/d-elton-trueblood-26225_flower_a-man-has-made-at-least-a-start-on-disco_2053265.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1cd/d-elton-trueblood-26225_flower_a-man-has-made-at-least-a-start-on-disco_2053265.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1cd/d-elton-trueblood-26225_flower_a-man-has-made-at-least-a-start-on-disco_2053265.png) > “A man has made at least a start on discovering the meaning of human life when he plants shade trees under which he knows full well he will never sit.” [D. Elton Trueblood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-elton-trueblood/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Planting trees for future generations reflects self‑less purpose, even if one never enjoys the benefit. **In simple terms:** Selfless acts benefit others, not oneself. Key Takeaway Create lasting value beyond personal gain. Themes legacy altruism environment philosophy Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - community projects - urban greening - personal philanthropy Key Concepts intergenerational stewardship humility Questions to Reflect On - What motivates you to act without personal reward? - How can you measure the impact of unseen contributions? A Different Perspective The act may be futile if the benefit never materializes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Discovering Meaning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discovering-meaning-772276/) [Flower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flower/) [Gardening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gardening/) [Human life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-life/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Man Start](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-start-257269/) [Shade Trees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shade-trees-2681918/) [Trees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trees/) [Trees Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trees-knows-3249299/) ## Related quotes > [Something looks back from the trees, and knows me for who I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/something-looks-back-from-the-trees-and-knows-me-for-who-i-am/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [A psychiatrists is the next man you start talking to after you start talking to yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-allen/a-psychiatrists-is-the-next-man-you-start-talking-to-after-you-start/) [Fred Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-allen/) > [War is like a fire. One man may start it, but it will spread all over. It is not about one thing in particular.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/war-is-like-a-fire-one-man-may-start-it-but-it-will-spread-all-over/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I think its part of the nature of man to start with romance and build to a reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-think-its-part-of-the-nature-of-man-to-start-with-romance-and-build/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Isn't art about breaking rules, about challenging existing systems, isn't it about discovering meaning in things or situations before others see anything in them??](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-lindbergh/isn-t-art-about-breaking-rules-about-challenging-existing-systems-isn/) [Peter Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-lindbergh/) > [Works of art... do not force meanings on their audience; meaning emerges, adds up, unfolds from their imagined centres... takes one through the process…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hughes/works-of-art-do-not-force-meanings-on-their-audience-meaning-emerges/) [Robert Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hughes/) > [Each day is an adventure in discovering the meaning of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-canfield/each-day-is-an-adventure-in-discovering-the-meaning-of-life/) [Jack Canfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-canfield/) > [Each day is an adventure in discovering the meaning of life. It is each little thing that you do that day - whether it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-canfield/each-day-is-an-adventure-in-discovering-the-meaning-of-life-it-is/) [Jack Canfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-canfield/) > [“Let there be learning, even under the shade of trees.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-rodham-clinton/let-there-be-learning-even-under-the-shade-of-trees/) [Hillary Rodham Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-rodham-clinton/) > [“Let us cross over the river, and rest in the shade of the trees.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jackson/let-us-cross-over-the-river-and-rest-in-the-shade-of-the-trees/) [Thomas Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jackson/) > [Let us go over, and sit in the shade of the trees.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stonewall-jackson/let-us-go-over-and-sit-in-the-shade-of-the-trees/) [Stonewall Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stonewall-jackson/) > [“Smart people that like good health spend several hours outdoors daily in the shade of trees.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/smart-people-that-like-good-health-spend-several-hours-outdoors-daily/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [Let us cross over the river and rest under the shade of the trees.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-us-cross-over-the-river-and-rest-under-the-shade-of-the-trees/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Conception is the beginning of human life. From the time that an ovum is fertilized a new life begins that is neither that of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/declaration-on-procured-abortion-congregation-for-the-doctrine-of-the-faith-1974/conception-is-the-beginning-of-human-life-from-the-time-that-an-ovum/) [Declaration on Procured Abortion Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith 1974](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/declaration-on-procured-abortion-congregation-for-the-doctrine-of-the-faith-1974/) > [Entertainment is a sacred pursuit when done well. When done well, it raises the quality of human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/entertainment-is-a-sacred-pursuit-when-done-well-when-done-well-it/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) ## More by D. Elton Trueblood > [One of the noblest words in our language is "grace," defined as "unearned blessing." We live by grace far more than by anything else.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-elton-trueblood/one-of-the-noblest-words-in-our-language-is-grace-defined-as-unearned/) [D. Elton Trueblood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-elton-trueblood/) > [The more we study the early Church, the more we realize that it was a society of ministers. About the only similarity between the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-elton-trueblood/the-more-we-study-the-early-church-the-more-we-realize-that-it-was-a/) [D. Elton Trueblood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-elton-trueblood/) > [The Christian is joyful, not because he is blind to injustice and suffering, but because he is convinced that these, in the light of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-elton-trueblood/the-christian-is-joyful-not-because-he-is-blind-to-injustice-and/) [D. Elton Trueblood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-elton-trueblood/) > [It takes a noble man to plant a seed for a tree that will someday give shade to people he may never meet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-elton-trueblood/it-takes-a-noble-man-to-plant-a-seed-for-a-tree-that-will-someday/) [D. Elton Trueblood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-elton-trueblood/) > [Our religion is one which challenges the ordinary human standards by holding that the ideal of life is the spirit of a little child.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-elton-trueblood/our-religion-is-one-which-challenges-the-ordinary-human-standards-by/) [D. Elton Trueblood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-elton-trueblood/) > [Democracy is necessitated by the fact that all men are sinners; it is made possible by the fact that we know it. ...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-elton-trueblood/democracy-is-necessitated-by-the-fact-that-all-men-are-sinners-it-is/) [D. Elton Trueblood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-elton-trueblood/) > [At the profoundest depths in life, men talk not about God but with Him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-elton-trueblood/at-the-profoundest-depths-in-life-men-talk-not-about-god-but-with-him/) [D. Elton Trueblood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-elton-trueblood/) > [If the average church should suddenly take seriously the notion that every lay member man or woman is really a minister of Christ, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-elton-trueblood/if-the-average-church-should-suddenly-take-seriously-the-notion-that/) [D. Elton Trueblood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-elton-trueblood/) > [This historic Christian doctrine of the divinity of Christ does not simply mean that Jesus is like God. It is far more radical than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-elton-trueblood/this-historic-christian-doctrine-of-the-divinity-of-christ-does-not/) [D. Elton Trueblood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-elton-trueblood/) > [The ultimate verification of our religion consists of the changed lives to which it can point and for which it is responsible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-elton-trueblood/the-ultimate-verification-of-our-religion-consists-of-the-changed/) [D. Elton Trueblood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-elton-trueblood/) > [The world is equally shocked at hearing Christianity criticized and seeing it practiced.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-elton-trueblood/the-world-is-equally-shocked-at-hearing-christianity-criticized-and/) [D. Elton Trueblood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-elton-trueblood/) > [We need to be agnostics first and then there is some chance at arriving at a sensible system of belief.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-elton-trueblood/we-need-to-be-agnostics-first-and-then-there-is-some-chance-at/) [D. Elton Trueblood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-elton-trueblood/) > [No vital Christianity is possible unless at least three aspects of it are developed. These are the inner life of devotion, the outer life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-elton-trueblood/no-vital-christianity-is-possible-unless-at-least-three-aspects-of-it/) [D. Elton Trueblood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-elton-trueblood/) > [Faith is not belief without proof, but trust without reservation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-elton-trueblood/faith-is-not-belief-without-proof-but-trust-without-reservation/) [D. Elton Trueblood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-elton-trueblood/) > [The only way to happiness is never to give happiness a thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-elton-trueblood/the-only-way-to-happiness-is-never-to-give-happiness-a-thought/) [D. Elton Trueblood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-elton-trueblood/) [Explore all 22 D. Elton Trueblood quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-elton-trueblood/) ## More Flower quotes > [“It is not the force of the wind, but the depth of the roots.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/it-is-not-the-force-of-the-wind-but-the-depth-of-the-roots/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [A Light exists in Spring Not present on the Year At any other period - When March is scarcely here A Color stands abroad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/a-light-exists-in-spring-not-present-on-the-year-at-any-other-period/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [Set NOT your hearts on the flowers of this world. They shall fade and die. Prize the Rose of Sharon and the Lily of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/set-not-your-hearts-on-the-flowers-of-this-world-they-shall-fade-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Most girls get flowers or candy. I get a declaration of martial law.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-shearin/most-girls-get-flowers-or-candy-i-get-a-declaration-of-martial-law/) [Lisa Shearin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-shearin/) > [One of the deepest and strangest of all human moods is the mood which will suddenly strike us perhaps in a garden at night,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-of-the-deepest-and-strangest-of-all-human-moods-is-the-mood-which/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Spring training means flowers, people coming outdoors, sunshine, optimism and baseball. Spring training is a time to think about being young again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernie-banks/spring-training-means-flowers-people-coming-outdoors-sunshine/) [Ernie Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernie-banks/) > [Sometimes, sometimes it is really difficult to turn and walk away from someone you have loved and cherished for so long. You know deep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-kreger/sometimes-sometimes-it-is-really-difficult-to-turn-and-walk-away-from/) [David Kreger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-kreger/) > [This, at last, was where things were as they ought to be. Everything was in its place -- the tree, the earth underneath, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-liedloff/this-at-last-was-where-things-were-as-they-ought-to-be-everything-was/) [Jean Liedloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-liedloff/) > [A garden has a curious innocent way of consuming cash while all the time you are under the illusion that you are spending nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-meynell/a-garden-has-a-curious-innocent-way-of-consuming-cash-while-all-the/) [Esther Meynell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-meynell/) > [My days – the blossom of my youth and the flower of my manhood – have been darkened by the dreariness of servitude. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-o-connell/my-days-the-blossom-of-my-youth-and-the-flower-of-my-manhood-have/) [Daniel O'Connell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-o-connell/) > [My life is a crystal teardrop. There are snowflakes falling in the teardrop and little figures trudging in slow motion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-baez/my-life-is-a-crystal-teardrop-there-are-snowflakes-falling-in-the/) [Joan Baez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-baez/) > [“But any picture could deal with the problem of light. The problem with this picture is greater than that of reflective surfaces - it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitney-otto/but-any-picture-could-deal-with-the-problem-of-light-the-problem-with/) [Whitney Otto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitney-otto/) > [“I promise to respect and protect your aloneness, knowing that everything created must have its period of darkness: child and bulb, poem and personality.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/i-promise-to-respect-and-protect-your-aloneness-knowing-that/) [anne morrow lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/) > [Sometimes it's about less is more. It's about the seed. Thinking about this gigantic tree that you think is so beautiful but it started…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-durst/sometimes-it-s-about-less-is-more-it-s-about-the-seed-thinking-about/) [Fred Durst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-durst/) > [There are two kinds of beauty; there is a beauty which God gives at birth, and which withers as a flower. And there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-kuyper/there-are-two-kinds-of-beauty-there-is-a-beauty-which-god-gives-at/) [Abraham Kuyper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-kuyper/) [Browse all 12,347 Flower quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flower/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A man has made at least a start on discovering the meaning of human life when he plants shade trees under which he knows full well he will never sit.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "D. 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