--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It was only when you left it alone that a…" description: "\"It was only when you left it alone that a tree might treat you as a friend. After the blade bit in, you had yourself a war.\" — Denis Johnson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c1/denis-johnson-2135_blades_it-was-only-when-you-left-it-alone-that_2893730.png" --- # It was only when you left it alone that a tree might treat… ![“It was only when you left it alone that a tree might treat you as a friend. After the blade bit in, you had yourself a war.” quote by Denis Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c1/denis-johnson-2135_blades_it-was-only-when-you-left-it-alone-that_2893730.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c1/denis-johnson-2135_blades_it-was-only-when-you-left-it-alone-that_2893730.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c1/denis-johnson-2135_blades_it-was-only-when-you-left-it-alone-that_2893730.png) > “It was only when you left it alone that a tree might treat you as a friend. After the blade bit in, you had yourself a war.” [Denis Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-johnson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Neglecting a tree leads to conflict; respect for nature prevents war. **In simple terms:** Leaving nature alone avoids conflict. Key Takeaway Treat nature with respect. Themes environment conflict respect nature Mood contemplative somber Type literary environmental When to use this quote - gardening - forestry - environmental activism Key Concepts Ecocriticism human‑nature relationship Questions to Reflect On - What does the blade symbolize? - How can we reconcile human needs with nature? A Different Perspective Human conflict is often more complex than nature alone. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Friend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friend/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [Tree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tree/) [Trees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trees/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [Treat your friend as if he will one day be your enemy, and your enemy as if he will one day be your friend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-g-harding/treat-your-friend-as-if-he-will-one-day-be-your-enemy-and-your-enemy/) [Warren G. Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-g-harding/) > [Treat a friend as a person who may someday become your enemy; an enemy as a person who may someday become your friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/treat-a-friend-as-a-person-who-may-someday-become-your-enemy-an-enemy/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Treat your friend as if he might become an enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/publilius-syrus/treat-your-friend-as-if-he-might-become-an-enemy/) [Publilius Syrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/publilius-syrus/) > [Treat your friend's like you are going to eat'em today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/treat-your-friend-s-like-you-are-going-to-eat-em-today/) [Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/) > [To be kind, honest and have positive thoughts; to forgive those who harm us and treat everyone as a friend; to help those who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-be-kind-honest-and-have-positive-thoughts-to-forgive-those-who/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“DON’T TREAT me as a child, I might treat you as an adult. Treat me as a friend and I’ll treat you as one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-a-dimayuga/don-t-treat-me-as-a-child-i-might-treat-you-as-an-adult-treat-me-as-a/) [C.A. Dimayuga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-a-dimayuga/) > [“Treat him as a friend and save a life - A homeless man is not a leper.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sir-kristian-goldmund-aumann/treat-him-as-a-friend-and-save-a-life-a-homeless-man-is-not-a-leper/) sir kristian goldmund aumann > [Treat your friend as a spectacle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/treat-your-friend-as-a-spectacle/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“I think that, people are people. That's why the way I treat the lady working in the deli who slices my ham is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-joybell-c/i-think-that-people-are-people-that-s-why-the-way-i-treat-the-lady/) [C. JoyBell C](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-joybell-c/) > [Treat your body like you would treat a friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-riley/treat-your-body-like-you-would-treat-a-friend/) [Amber Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-riley/) > [I treat everyone as a friend, but if they betray me, that's it. They're out of my life in one way or another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-rosenbaum/i-treat-everyone-as-a-friend-but-if-they-betray-me-that-s-it-they-re/) [Michael Rosenbaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-rosenbaum/) > [The key to making healthy decisions is to respect your future self. Honor him or her. Treat him or her like you would treat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-key-to-making-healthy-decisions-is-to-respect-your-future-self/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“You can ignore me, Rachel, and you can try to treat me as a friend, but none of that will erase the fact that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-mcgarry/you-can-ignore-me-rachel-and-you-can-try-to-treat-me-as-a-friend-but/) [Katie McGarry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-mcgarry/) > [To defeat your enemies, treat them as a friend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unkown/to-defeat-your-enemies-treat-them-as-a-friend/) Unkown > [“Treat your friend dearly because they the closes enemies”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maxcatriot/treat-your-friend-dearly-because-they-the-closes-enemies/) Maxcatriot ## More by Denis Johnson > [“You’ve never felt good. Your suffering protects you. Pain is the ransom you have gladly paid not to be free.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-johnson/you-ve-never-felt-good-your-suffering-protects-you-pain-is-the-ransom/) [Denis Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-johnson/) > [“He had laid his head back until his scalp had contacted his spine, that far back, and opened his throat, and a sound rose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-johnson/he-had-laid-his-head-back-until-his-scalp-had-contacted-his-spine/) [Denis Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-johnson/) > [“Everything is arranged," John Robertson told me. Thank God." I forgot to mention that we appear to have one small problem," he said. Okay..."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-johnson/everything-is-arranged-john-robertson-told-me-thank-god-i-forgot-to/) [Denis Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-johnson/) > [Before this moment I'd lived as a mind. Body, heart, soul, intellect, so we care ourselves into parts. But the whole of us, what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-johnson/before-this-moment-i-d-lived-as-a-mind-body-heart-soul-intellect-so/) [Denis Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-johnson/) > [He got right down in the dark between heartbeats, and rested there. And then he saw that another one wasn't going to come. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-johnson/he-got-right-down-in-the-dark-between-heartbeats-and-rested-there-and/) [Denis Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-johnson/) > [I’d been staying at the Holiday Inn with my girlfriend, honestly the most beautiful woman I’d even known, for three days under a phony…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-johnson/i-d-been-staying-at-the-holiday-inn-with-my-girlfriend-honestly-the/) [Denis Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-johnson/) > [“All of this while I left lifted by a strange new medium, a strange element--I now tell you that I was newly buoyant in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-johnson/all-of-this-while-i-left-lifted-by-a-strange-new-medium-a-strange/) [Denis Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-johnson/) > [“He didn’t know what country he was in, but he was at home in the universe.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-johnson/he-didn-t-know-what-country-he-was-in-but-he-was-at-home-in-the/) [Denis Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-johnson/) > [“There's a dizzying thrill in a philosophy that can only be tested by suicide.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-johnson/there-s-a-dizzying-thrill-in-a-philosophy-that-can-only-be-tested-by/) [Denis Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-johnson/) > [I really enjoy writing novels. It's like the ocean. You can just build a boat and take off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-johnson/i-really-enjoy-writing-novels-it-s-like-the-ocean-you-can-just-build/) [Denis Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-johnson/) > [“Who said it? – probably Confucius – “I can’t beat a sculpture from a stone with a sledgehammer; I can’t free the soul of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-johnson/who-said-it-probably-confucius-i-can-t-beat-a-sculpture-from-a-stone/) [Denis Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-johnson/) > [“A bus came. I climbed aboard and sat on the plastic seat while the things of our city turned in the windows like the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-johnson/a-bus-came-i-climbed-aboard-and-sat-on-the-plastic-seat-while-the/) [Denis Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-johnson/) > [I knew every raindrop by its name.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-johnson/i-knew-every-raindrop-by-its-name/) [Denis Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-johnson/) > [“To find the people who've became truly sane, seek among those who've managed to do without sanity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-johnson/to-find-the-people-who-ve-became-truly-sane-seek-among-those-who-ve/) [Denis Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-johnson/) > [“eventually these encounters forced him to acknowledge the reality of fate, and the truth inherent in things of the imagination.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-johnson/eventually-these-encounters-forced-him-to-acknowledge-the-reality-of/) [Denis Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-johnson/) [Explore all 183 Denis Johnson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-johnson/) ## More Blades quotes > [A lie always needs a truth for a handle to it. The worst lies are those whose blade is false, but whose handle is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/a-lie-always-needs-a-truth-for-a-handle-to-it-the-worst-lies-are/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [The Kabbalah describes angels as bundles of light, meaning intelligence, consciousness. Kabbalists believe that above every blade of grass is an angel crying "Grow!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/the-kabbalah-describes-angels-as-bundles-of-light-meaning/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [Our past is the forge upon which we are hardened and tempered, to prepare us for the present. We are like a fine blade…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-atchley-jr/our-past-is-the-forge-upon-which-we-are-hardened-and-tempered-to/) Larry Atchley Jr > [When a buddha is painted, not only a clay altar or lump of earth is used, but the thirty-two marks, a blade of grass,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dogen/when-a-buddha-is-painted-not-only-a-clay-altar-or-lump-of-earth-is/) [Dogen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dogen/) > [I felt freed to please myself, to find my way as I would, in a world that was much vaster than I had realized…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margo-lanagan/i-felt-freed-to-please-myself-to-find-my-way-as-i-would-in-a-world/) [Margo Lanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margo-lanagan/) > [I would like to see a fierce Fantasia mixed with Blade Runner, Lord of the Rings, and Star Wars all in one. That's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-rodriguez/i-would-like-to-see-a-fierce-fantasia-mixed-with-blade-runner-lord-of/) [Michelle Rodriguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-rodriguez/) > [Paper or razor blade, never give up And just remember just to hold out more A couple years ago I couldn't just control that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-sheeran/paper-or-razor-blade-never-give-up-and-just-remember-just-to-hold-out/) [Ed Sheeran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-sheeran/) > [There are those who say that trees shade the garden too much, and interfere with the growth of the vegetables. There may be something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dudley-warner/there-are-those-who-say-that-trees-shade-the-garden-too-much-and/) [Charles Dudley Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dudley-warner/) > [Heavy role in the movies that I've done that I have loved and fit my soul; A Simple Plan, Monster's Ball, Sling Blade, One…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-bob-thornton/heavy-role-in-the-movies-that-i-ve-done-that-i-have-loved-and-fit-my/) [Billy Bob Thornton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-bob-thornton/) > [Staring at her face, she began to fancy her outer layer had begun to melt away while she wasn't paying attention, and something --…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laini-taylor/staring-at-her-face-she-began-to-fancy-her-outer-layer-had-begun-to/) [Laini Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laini-taylor/) > [You need flawless balance on the recovery. You need white hot focus and the concentration to row square blades cleanly for seven miles. Smooth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-alan-lewis/you-need-flawless-balance-on-the-recovery-you-need-white-hot-focus/) [Brad Alan Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-alan-lewis/) > [If you look at 'Blade Runner,' it's been cut sixteen ways from Sunday, and there are all kinds of different versions of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-lucas/if-you-look-at-blade-runner-it-s-been-cut-sixteen-ways-from-sunday/) [George Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-lucas/) > [Here's an example: someone says, "Master, please hand me the knife," and he hands them the knife, blade first. "Please give me the other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/here-s-an-example-someone-says-master-please-hand-me-the-knife-and-he/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [It's ninety-six degrees in the shade... Before I catch blood on my blade.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-murray/it-s-ninety-six-degrees-in-the-shade-before-i-catch-blood-on-my-blade/) [Keith Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-murray/) > ["Lay the knife at the tips of your fingers," Rob commanded. "So close youcan feel the blade against your skins. Then cut the shadow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-rees-brennan/lay-the-knife-at-the-tips-of-your-fingers-rob-commanded-so-close/) [Sarah Rees Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-rees-brennan/) Browse all 490 Blades quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It was only when you left it alone that a tree might treat you as a friend. 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