--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Why, why are people all balls of bitter…" description: "\"Why, why are people all balls of bitter dust? Because they won't fall off the tree when they're ripe. They hang on to their old positions when the posi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6be/d-h-lawrence-426_balls_why-why-are-people-all-balls-of-bitter-d_777292.png" --- # Why, why are people all balls of bitter dust? Because they… ![“Why, why are people all balls of bitter dust? Because they won't fall off the tree when they're ripe. They hang on to their old positions when the position is overpast, till they become infested with little worms and dry-rot.” quote by D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6be/d-h-lawrence-426_balls_why-why-are-people-all-balls-of-bitter-d_777292.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6be/d-h-lawrence-426_balls_why-why-are-people-all-balls-of-bitter-d_777292.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6be/d-h-lawrence-426_balls_why-why-are-people-all-balls-of-bitter-d_777292.png) > “Why, why are people all balls of bitter dust? Because they won't fall off the tree when they're ripe. They hang on to their old positions when the position is overpast, till they become infested with little worms and dry-rot.” [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People cling to outdated roles, becoming decayed when they refuse to let go of past relevance. **In simple terms:** Holding onto old positions leads to decay. Key Takeaway Embrace change before stagnation. Themes change stagnation decay growth Mood reflective critical Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - career transitions - relationships - political shifts - personal development Key Concepts psychology social dynamics life cycles Questions to Reflect On - What role are you holding onto? - How might letting go benefit you? A Different Perspective Change can be painful and uncertain. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Tree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tree/) [Trees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trees/) ## Related quotes > [If you want to look young and thin, hang around old fat people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-eason/if-you-want-to-look-young-and-thin-hang-around-old-fat-people/) Jim Eason > [ “But mankind is a dead tree, covered with fine brilliant galls of people.\[..\]And if it is so, why is it? she asked, hostile.They were… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence-2/but-mankind-is-a-dead-tree-covered-with-fine-brilliant-galls-of/) [D.H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence-2/) > [What work you do! It's strange work for a Christian girl to hang old women!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/what-work-you-do-it-s-strange-work-for-a-christian-girl-to-hang-old/) [Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/) > [“Don't hang on to old hurts. You can spend your years blaming God, blaming other people. But in the end it was a choice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-b-jones/don-t-hang-on-to-old-hurts-you-can-spend-your-years-blaming-god/) [Jenny B. Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-b-jones/) > [You can fall off a building, you can fall out a tree, but baby, the best way to fall is in love with me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-can-fall-off-a-building-you-can-fall-out-a-tree-but-baby-the-best/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Sometimes we must all fall out of a tree.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-tarshis/sometimes-we-must-all-fall-out-of-a-tree/) [Lauren Tarshis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-tarshis/) > [You might fall from the sky, you might even fall from a tree...but the best way to fall, is to fall in love with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-might-fall-from-the-sky-you-might-even-fall-from-a-tree-but-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You may fall from the sky, you may fall from a tree, but the best way to fall is in love with me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-may-fall-from-the-sky-you-may-fall-from-a-tree-but-the-best-way/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [They don�t fall fall from the tree and they don�t drop not when you�re counting or maybe that�s my sweet philosophy. Yeah, yeah, yeah.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lizz-wright/they-don-t-fall-fall-from-the-tree-and-they-don-t-drop-not-when-you/) [Lizz Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lizz-wright/) > [U can fall from D sky U can fall from a tree But D best way to fall is in love wid me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/u-can-fall-from-d-sky-u-can-fall-from-a-tree-but-d-best-way-to-fall/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [U can fall from tha sky u can fall from the tree but the best way to fall is in love with me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akki/u-can-fall-from-tha-sky-u-can-fall-from-the-tree-but-the-best-way-to/) Akki > [A tree without roots will fall over, whereas a tree with roots eventually becomes part of a forest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margrethe-ii-of-denmark/a-tree-without-roots-will-fall-over-whereas-a-tree-with-roots/) [Margrethe II of Denmark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margrethe-ii-of-denmark/) > [“Autumn leaves fall from the tree, disappear with the wind, but then reappear on the tree and disappear again. Memories are like that, first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/autumn-leaves-fall-from-the-tree-disappear-with-the-wind-but-then/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [You can fall from the sky.you can fall from a tree.but the best way to fall is in love with me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-can-fall-from-the-sky-you-can-fall-from-a-tree-but-the-best-way/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I’ll detach myself from the crowd if it hinders my growth, I’ll fall from the tree that won’t let me grow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hareem-ch/i-ll-detach-myself-from-the-crowd-if-it-hinders-my-growth-i-ll-fall/) [Hareem Ch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hareem-ch/) ## More by D. H. Lawrence > [Not I, not I, but the wind that blows through me! A fine wind is blowing the new direction of Time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/not-i-not-i-but-the-wind-that-blows-through-me-a-fine-wind-is-blowing/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [and Venus among the fishes skips and is a she-dolphin she is the gay, delighted porpoise sporting with love and the sea she is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/and-venus-among-the-fishes-skips-and-is-a-she-dolphin-she-is-the-gay/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [If I had my way, I would build a lethal chamber as big as the Crystal Palace, with a military band playing softly, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/if-i-had-my-way-i-would-build-a-lethal-chamber-as-big-as-the-crystal/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [Now it is autumn and the falling fruit and the long journey towards oblivion. The apples falling like great drops of dew to bruise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/now-it-is-autumn-and-the-falling-fruit-and-the-long-journey-towards/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [We have to hate our immediate predecessors to get free of their authority.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/we-have-to-hate-our-immediate-predecessors-to-get-free-of-their/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [Reach me a gentian, give me a torch! Let me guide myself with the blue, forked torch of a flower down the darker and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/reach-me-a-gentian-give-me-a-torch-let-me-guide-myself-with-the-blue/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [The war is dreadful. It is the business of the artist to follow it home to the heart of the individual fighters - not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/the-war-is-dreadful-it-is-the-business-of-the-artist-to-follow-it/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [The nearer a conception comes towards finality, the nearer does the dynamic relation, out of which this concept has arisen, draw to a close.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/the-nearer-a-conception-comes-towards-finality-the-nearer-does-the/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [It is our business to go as we are impelled.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/it-is-our-business-to-go-as-we-are-impelled/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [Ours is essentially a tragic age, so we refuse to take it tragically.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/ours-is-essentially-a-tragic-age-so-we-refuse-to-take-it-tragically/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [If only we could live two lives: the first in which to make one's mistakes, and the second in which to profit by them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/if-only-we-could-live-two-lives-the-first-in-which-to-make-one-s/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [They say geniuses mostly have great mothers. They mostly have sad fates.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/they-say-geniuses-mostly-have-great-mothers-they-mostly-have-sad-fates/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [When one jumps over the edge, one is bound to land somewhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/when-one-jumps-over-the-edge-one-is-bound-to-land-somewhere/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [The living moment is everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/the-living-moment-is-everything/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [If a woman's got nothing but her fair fame to feed on, why, it's thin tack, and a donkey would die of it!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/if-a-woman-s-got-nothing-but-her-fair-fame-to-feed-on-why-it-s-thin/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) [Explore all 570 D. H. Lawrence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) ## More Balls quotes > [It's a lot harder to play football when you haven't got the ball.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-gray/it-s-a-lot-harder-to-play-football-when-you-haven-t-got-the-ball/) [Andy Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-gray/) > [Once you pull the trigger, you've got to throw balls aggressively and with conviction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-smith/once-you-pull-the-trigger-you-ve-got-to-throw-balls-aggressively-and/) [Alex Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-smith/) > [Thinking about the things that happened, I don't know any other ball player would could have done what he (Jackie Robinson) did. To be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pee-wee-reese/thinking-about-the-things-that-happened-i-don-t-know-any-other-ball/) [Pee Wee Reese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pee-wee-reese/) > [Play small ball. Get back to basics. I would say that you need to be a conservative, but you need to maintain your independent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-tantaros/play-small-ball-get-back-to-basics-i-would-say-that-you-need-to-be-a/) [Andrea Tantaros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-tantaros/) > [Donald Trump is a different ball of wax. I've been trying to say for I don't know how many months now that the traditional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/donald-trump-is-a-different-ball-of-wax-i-ve-been-trying-to-say-for-i/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [Well, you can certainly teach free-throwing. And you can teach the boys to pass at angles and run in curves. - University of Kansas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darryl-dawkins/well-you-can-certainly-teach-free-throwing-and-you-can-teach-the-boys/) [Darryl Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darryl-dawkins/) > [Maybe bring in sponge balls to learn the technique and gain that experience of actually challenging for a header.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-mason/maybe-bring-in-sponge-balls-to-learn-the-technique-and-gain-that/) [Ryan Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-mason/) > [I like René Descartes' theory about a ball of wax. You can change its form from solid to liquid, but it's still the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmy-rossum/i-like-ren-descartes-theory-about-a-ball-of-wax-you-can-change-its/) [Emmy Rossum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmy-rossum/) > [It wasn't really touching to be young; it was touching not to be young, because you had less of life left. Touching to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-macaulay/it-wasn-t-really-touching-to-be-young-it-was-touching-not-to-be-young/) [Rose Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-macaulay/) > [This ball was so crowded that it took me - a trained professional journalist with vast experience in this area - forty five minutes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/this-ball-was-so-crowded-that-it-took-me-a-trained-professional/) [Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/) > [Common sense is the guy who tells you that you ought to have had your brakes relined last week before you smashed a front…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/common-sense-is-the-guy-who-tells-you-that-you-ought-to-have-had-your/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [Throwing a ball is not natural, whether it's overhand or underhand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennie-finch/throwing-a-ball-is-not-natural-whether-it-s-overhand-or-underhand/) [Jennie Finch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennie-finch/) > [I don't feel like I have to live up to anything because I've proven that I can play. Give me the ball and let's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clinton-portis/i-don-t-feel-like-i-have-to-live-up-to-anything-because-i-ve-proven/) [Clinton Portis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clinton-portis/) > [And if we seem nutty to you and if we seem like an odd ball to you, just remember one thing. The mighty oak…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-turner/and-if-we-seem-nutty-to-you-and-if-we-seem-like-an-odd-ball-to-you/) [Glenn Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-turner/) > [You run the football for toughness. You run the ball to tell your opponent that you're as tough as they are. But you throw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-glanville/you-run-the-football-for-toughness-you-run-the-ball-to-tell-your/) Jerry Glanville Browse all 3,005 Balls quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Why, why are people all balls of bitter dust? Because they won't fall off the tree when they're ripe. 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