--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I had to live in the desert before I…" description: "\"I had to live in the desert before I could understand the full value of grass in a green ditch.\" — Ella Maillart" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/665/ella-maillart-15348_desert_i-had-to-live-in-the-desert-before-i-cou_339025.jpg" --- # I had to live in the desert before I could understand the… ![“I had to live in the desert before I could understand the full value of grass in a green ditch.” quote by Ella Maillart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/665/ella-maillart-15348_desert_i-had-to-live-in-the-desert-before-i-cou_339025.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/665/ella-maillart-15348_desert_i-had-to-live-in-the-desert-before-i-cou_339025.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/665/ella-maillart-15348_desert_i-had-to-live-in-the-desert-before-i-cou_339025.jpg) > “I had to live in the desert before I could understand the full value of grass in a green ditch.” [Ella Maillart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-maillart/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Experiencing hardship (the desert) heightens appreciation for simple comforts (grass in a ditch) that are otherwise overlooked. **In simple terms:** Hardship makes you value simple blessings. Key Takeaway Embrace gratitude for everyday comforts. Themes gratitude contrast perspective Mood reflective appreciative Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - travel - survival - mindfulness practices Key Concepts existential reflection environmental appreciation personal growth Questions to Reflect On - What simple comfort have you overlooked? - How does contrast shape your appreciation? A Different Perspective Simple comforts can be taken for granted after hardship. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Desert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desert/) [Grass Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grass-green/) ## Related quotes > [“The desert is ours. It is my home. Invaders come here but they do not leave. They do not understand the desert. They do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-desert-is-ours-it-is-my-home-invaders-come-here-but-they-do-not/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The war tried to kill us in the spring. As grass greened the plains of Nineveh and the weather warmed, we patrolled the low-slung…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-powers/the-war-tried-to-kill-us-in-the-spring-as-grass-greened-the-plains-of/) [Kevin Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-powers/) > [“What long-dead face makes here the grass so green? On what earth-buried bosom do we lean? Ah! love, when we in turn are grass…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-le-gallienne/what-long-dead-face-makes-here-the-grass-so-green-on-what-earth/) [Richard Le Gallienne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-le-gallienne/) > [The fire in leaf and grass so green it seems each summer the last summer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-levertov/the-fire-in-leaf-and-grass-so-green-it-seems-each-summer-the-last/) [Denise Levertov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-levertov/) > [No one thinks of winter when the grass is green.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/no-one-thinks-of-winter-when-the-grass-is-green/) [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) > [The walls are white, the track is grey, the grass is green, and the sky is blue...your job is to keep them all where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-rutherford/the-walls-are-white-the-track-is-grey-the-grass-is-green-and-the-sky/) Johnny Rutherford > [Why is the sky blue? Why is the grass green? Why is metal a conductor of electricity, and wood is not, but you're more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gza/why-is-the-sky-blue-why-is-the-grass-green-why-is-metal-a-conductor/) Gza > [Life and I, we havent been getting along. When the grass is green, She got me in the other lawn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-talman/life-and-i-we-havent-been-getting-along-when-the-grass-is-green-she/) [Alex Talman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-talman/) > [What is green? The grass is green, With small flowers between. What is violet? Clouds are violet In the summer twilight. What is orange?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-rossetti/what-is-green-the-grass-is-green-with-small-flowers-between-what-is/) [Christina Rossetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-rossetti/) > [“The world goes on, little Seri," he said. "A soldier never dies. His blood makes the grass green for his children.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-berg/the-world-goes-on-little-seri-he-said-a-soldier-never-dies-his-blood/) [Carol Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-berg/) > [“Take this neat little equation here. It tells me all the ways an electron can make itself comfortable in or around an atom. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-feynman/take-this-neat-little-equation-here-it-tells-me-all-the-ways-an/) [Richard Feynman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-feynman/) > [“If a marriage is valued at ten thousand, surely I might have a waltz for three hundred." Her fingers clenched into very determined-looking fists.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-enoch/if-a-marriage-is-valued-at-ten-thousand-surely-i-might-have-a-waltz/) [Suzanne Enoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-enoch/) > [“ Luther Burbank was born in a brick farmhouse in Lancaster Mass, he walked through the woods one winter crunching through the shinycrusted snow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dos-passos/luther-burbank-was-born-in-a-brick-farmhouse-in-lancaster-mass-he/) [John Dos Passos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dos-passos/) > [“We had pale yellow tile in our bathroom rimmed with thin tiles of white. I’d dumped Tack’s old, mismatched towels and added new, thick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-ashley/we-had-pale-yellow-tile-in-our-bathroom-rimmed-with-thin-tiles-of/) [Kristen Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-ashley/) > [Tis easy now for the heart to be true As for grass to be green or skies to be blue-- 'Tis the natural way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/tis-easy-now-for-the-heart-to-be-true-as-for-grass-to-be-green-or/) [James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/) ## More by Ella Maillart > [Shall we ever see the 10 million things of the universe simultaneously in order to be the all? I am convinced that to live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-maillart/shall-we-ever-see-the-10-million-things-of-the-universe/) [Ella Maillart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-maillart/) > [Not only does travel give us a new system of reckoning, it also brings to the fore unknown aspects of our own self. Our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-maillart/not-only-does-travel-give-us-a-new-system-of-reckoning-it-also-brings/) [Ella Maillart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-maillart/) > [It is always our own self that we find at the end of the journey. The sooner we face that self, the better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-maillart/it-is-always-our-own-self-that-we-find-at-the-end-of-the-journey-the/) [Ella Maillart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-maillart/) > [When the heart speaks, its language is the same under all latitudes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-maillart/when-the-heart-speaks-its-language-is-the-same-under-all-latitudes/) [Ella Maillart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-maillart/) > [Others are keen to see if natives other than us live better than we do, without heat in pipes, ice in boxes, sunshine in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-maillart/others-are-keen-to-see-if-natives-other-than-us-live-better-than-we/) [Ella Maillart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-maillart/) > [The usual channels of university studies or secretarial work did not appeal to me. I cherished difficult dreams through confidence in myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-maillart/the-usual-channels-of-university-studies-or-secretarial-work-did-not/) [Ella Maillart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-maillart/) > [There is only one valid species of voyage, which is walk towards the men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-maillart/there-is-only-one-valid-species-of-voyage-which-is-walk-towards-the/) [Ella Maillart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-maillart/) > [Humanity is made up of an infinity of different individuals. Each of us travels for motives exclusively his own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-maillart/humanity-is-made-up-of-an-infinity-of-different-individuals-each-of/) [Ella Maillart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-maillart/) > [“I write with my foot.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-maillart/i-write-with-my-foot/) [Ella Maillart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-maillart/) > [You do not travel if you are afraid of the unknown, you travel for the unknown, that reveals you with yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-maillart/you-do-not-travel-if-you-are-afraid-of-the-unknown-you-travel-for-the/) [Ella Maillart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-maillart/) > [Certain travellers give the impression that they keep moving because only then do they feel fully alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-maillart/certain-travellers-give-the-impression-that-they-keep-moving-because/) [Ella Maillart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-maillart/) > [One travels to run away from routine, that dreadful routine that kills all imagination and all our capacity for enthusiasm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-maillart/one-travels-to-run-away-from-routine-that-dreadful-routine-that-kills/) [Ella Maillart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-maillart/) > [Travel can also be the spirit of adventure somewhat tamed, for those who desire to do something they are a bit afraid of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-maillart/travel-can-also-be-the-spirit-of-adventure-somewhat-tamed-for-those/) [Ella Maillart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-maillart/) > [The benefits of the accomplished journey cannot be weighed in terms of perfect moments, but in terms of how this journey affects and changes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-maillart/the-benefits-of-the-accomplished-journey-cannot-be-weighed-in-terms/) [Ella Maillart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-maillart/) > [The wideness of the horizon has to be inside us, cannot be anywhere but inside us, otherwise what we speak about is geographic distances.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-maillart/the-wideness-of-the-horizon-has-to-be-inside-us-cannot-be-anywhere/) [Ella Maillart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-maillart/) [Explore all 43 Ella Maillart quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-maillart/) ## More Desert quotes > [I have inside me the winds, the deserts, the oceans, the stars, and everything created in the universe. We were all made by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/i-have-inside-me-the-winds-the-deserts-the-oceans-the-stars-and/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“And now you will ask me about the musicians that played for the jackalope wives. Well, if you can find a place where they’ve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-vernon/and-now-you-will-ask-me-about-the-musicians-that-played-for-the/) [Ursula Vernon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-vernon/) > [Some people are like ants. Give them a warm day and a piece of ground and they start digging. There the similarity ends. Ants…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-borland/some-people-are-like-ants-give-them-a-warm-day-and-a-piece-of-ground/) [Hal Borland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-borland/) > [I do spend a lot of weekends on the road. I have to pace myself. It can be pretty busy, but I'm not out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-sinise/i-do-spend-a-lot-of-weekends-on-the-road-i-have-to-pace-myself-it-can/) [Gary Sinise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-sinise/) > [I did not support Operation Desert Fox.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janeane-garofalo/i-did-not-support-operation-desert-fox/) [Janeane Garofalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janeane-garofalo/) > [“The cactus thrives in the desert while the fern thrives in the wetland. The fool will try to plant them in the same flowerbox.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-nazarian/the-cactus-thrives-in-the-desert-while-the-fern-thrives-in-the/) [Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-nazarian/) > [I am sympathetic to developing countries’ concerns: because of our emissions it’s their crops that will disappear; because of our inaction, it’s their fields…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kerry/i-am-sympathetic-to-developing-countries-concerns-because-of-our/) [John F. Kerry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kerry/) > [Use every man according to his desert and who should 'scape whipping? Use them after your own honor and dignity, the less they deserve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/use-every-man-according-to-his-desert-and-who-should-scape-whipping/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [There is nothing in the desert and no man needs nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david/there-is-nothing-in-the-desert-and-no-man-needs-nothing/) [David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david/) > [Who’s to say that it takes something like a drug to mess with your perception of reality? How did Hitler deceive a nation? How…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-dekker/who-s-to-say-that-it-takes-something-like-a-drug-to-mess-with-your/) [Ted Dekker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-dekker/) > [God hath work to do in this world; and to desert it because of its difficulties and entanglements, is to cast off His authority.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-owen/god-hath-work-to-do-in-this-world-and-to-desert-it-because-of-its/) [John Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-owen/) > [“If you build a road in the desert and then leave it to its fate, the desert sands will swallow that road! The same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/if-you-build-a-road-in-the-desert-and-then-leave-it-to-its-fate-the/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Hulkamania is like a single grain of sand in the Sahara desert that is Nacho Madness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/macho-man-randy-savage/hulkamania-is-like-a-single-grain-of-sand-in-the-sahara-desert-that/) [Macho Man Randy Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/macho-man-randy-savage/) > [“The Estate of Solemnity By right, it reigns in its places- in long beards Of spanish moss hanging from a live oak On a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pattiann-rogers/the-estate-of-solemnity-by-right-it-reigns-in-its-places-in-long/) [Pattiann Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pattiann-rogers/) > [The earth itself assures us it is a living entity. Deep below surface one can hear its slow pulse, feel its vibrant rhythm. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-waters/the-earth-itself-assures-us-it-is-a-living-entity-deep-below-surface/) [Frank Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-waters/) [Browse all 1,675 Desert quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desert/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I had to live in the desert before I could understand the full value of grass in a green ditch.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ella Maillart" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-maillart/i-had-to-live-in-the-desert-before-i-could-understand-the-full-value/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Desert" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-maillart/i-had-to-live-in-the-desert-before-i-could-understand-the-full-value/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/665/ella-maillart-15348_desert_i-had-to-live-in-the-desert-before-i-cou_339025.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/665/ella-maillart-15348_desert_i-had-to-live-in-the-desert-before-i-cou_339025.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/665/ella-maillart-15348_desert_i-had-to-live-in-the-desert-before-i-cou_339025.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I had to live in the desert before I could understand the full value of grass in a green ditch.” — Ella Maillart", "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": "Ella Maillart", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-maillart/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I had to live in the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-maillart/i-had-to-live-in-the-desert-before-i-could-understand-the-full-value/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-maillart/i-had-to-live-in-the-desert-before-i-could-understand-the-full-value/#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 } } ] } ```