--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I like to think of the landscape not as a…" description: "\"I like to think of the landscape not as a fixed place but as a path that is unwinding before my eyes, under my feet. To see and know a place is a conte..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e8a/gretel-ehrlich-9636_contemplative_i-like-to-think-of-the-landscape-not-as_2888611.jpg" --- # I like to think of the landscape not as a fixed place but… ![“I like to think of the landscape not as a fixed place but as a path that is unwinding before my eyes, under my feet. To see and know a place is a contemplative act. It means emptying our minds and letting what is there, in all its mulitplicity and endless variety, come in.” quote by Gretel Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e8a/gretel-ehrlich-9636_contemplative_i-like-to-think-of-the-landscape-not-as_2888611.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e8a/gretel-ehrlich-9636_contemplative_i-like-to-think-of-the-landscape-not-as_2888611.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e8a/gretel-ehrlich-9636_contemplative_i-like-to-think-of-the-landscape-not-as_2888611.jpg) > “I like to think of the landscape not as a fixed place but as a path that is unwinding before my eyes, under my feet. To see and know a place is a contemplative act. It means emptying our minds and letting what is there, in all its mulitplicity and endless variety, come in.” [Gretel Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretel-ehrlich/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Perceiving landscape as an unfolding path encourages mindful, open‑ended exploration. **In simple terms:** Seeing land as a path invites contemplation. Key Takeaway Embrace fluid, present‑moment awareness. Themes mindfulness nature perception Mood peaceful reflective Type philosophical creative When to use this quote - hiking - meditation - creative writing - visual arts Key Concepts environmental philosophy psychology Questions to Reflect On - How does this view affect your travel? - What practices deepen your perception? A Different Perspective May be idealistic for urban settings. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Contemplative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contemplative/) [Landscape](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/landscape/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Path](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/path/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Variety](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/variety/) ## Related quotes > [“Being here reminded him of how hard the city had been, it's unyielding surfaces, the relentless need for more and more money just to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-wolitzer/being-here-reminded-him-of-how-hard-the-city-had-been-it-s-unyielding/) [Meg Wolitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-wolitzer/) > [The moment we realize that the only things we can intelligibly value are actual and potential changes in the experience of conscious beings, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/the-moment-we-realize-that-the-only-things-we-can-intelligibly-value/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [Today the thing I find myself thinking about the most is our landscape...I think it's something a lot of us take for granted; for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mick-dodson/today-the-thing-i-find-myself-thinking-about-the-most-is-our/) [Mick Dodson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mick-dodson/) > [I think the landscape you grow up in probably does mark you in ways you don't even understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-barrett/i-think-the-landscape-you-grow-up-in-probably-does-mark-you-in-ways/) [Andrea Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-barrett/) > [We rely, I think, on landscape photography to make intelligible to us what we already know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-adams/we-rely-i-think-on-landscape-photography-to-make-intelligible-to-us/) [Robert Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-adams/) > [I think landscape photography in general is somewhat undervalued.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galen-rowell/i-think-landscape-photography-in-general-is-somewhat-undervalued/) [Galen Rowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galen-rowell/) > [Each person comes to have this musical experience, this moment with us, where they get to sink into our world for a little while.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-welch/each-person-comes-to-have-this-musical-experience-this-moment-with-us/) [Gillian Welch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-welch/) > [“Oak gave up his room so they could sleep there, and although the bed is small, Cardan cannot mind when he takes Jude in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-black/oak-gave-up-his-room-so-they-could-sleep-there-and-although-the-bed/) [Holly Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-black/) > [Fish slowly and thoroughly. Haste never paid dividends. Never wory about the fellow ahead of you. If you start racing to get ahaead of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bergman/fish-slowly-and-thoroughly-haste-never-paid-dividends-never-wory/) [Ray Bergman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bergman/) > [A lot of people do their practice. They meditate on compassion. Then they yell at people afterwards. That is not quite working. One of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sakyong-mipham/a-lot-of-people-do-their-practice-they-meditate-on-compassion-then/) [Sakyong Mipham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sakyong-mipham/) > [“I wonder if I am not turning into a contemplative . . . But those roses . They were something else. I was having…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-barbery/i-wonder-if-i-am-not-turning-into-a-contemplative-but-those-roses/) [Muriel Barbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-barbery/) > [You cannot grow in the integrative dance of action and contemplation without a strong tolerance for ambiguity, an ability to allow, forgive, and contain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/you-cannot-grow-in-the-integrative-dance-of-action-and-contemplation/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [“everything kills everything else in some way. Fishing kills me exactly as it keeps me alive. The boy keeps me alive, he thought. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/everything-kills-everything-else-in-some-way-fishing-kills-me-exactly/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [Composing a piece of music is very feminine. It is sensitive, emotional, contemplative. By comparison, doing housework is positively masculine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kolb/composing-a-piece-of-music-is-very-feminine-it-is-sensitive-emotional/) Barbara Kolb > [“Let no one hope to find in contemplation an escape from conflict, from anguish or from doubt. On the contrary, the deep, inexpressible certitude…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/let-no-one-hope-to-find-in-contemplation-an-escape-from-conflict-from/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) ## More by Gretel Ehrlich > [“To yield is to be preserved whole. To be bent is to become straight. To be hollow is to be filled. To be tattered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretel-ehrlich/to-yield-is-to-be-preserved-whole-to-be-bent-is-to-become-straight-to/) [Gretel Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretel-ehrlich/) > [Turbulence, like many forms of trouble, cannot always be seen. We bounce so hard my arms sail helplessly above my head. In evolution, wing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretel-ehrlich/turbulence-like-many-forms-of-trouble-cannot-always-be-seen-we-bounce/) [Gretel Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretel-ehrlich/) > [From the clayey soil of northern Wyoming is mined bentonite, which is used as filler in candy, gum, and lipstick. We Americans are great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretel-ehrlich/from-the-clayey-soil-of-northern-wyoming-is-mined-bentonite-which-is/) [Gretel Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretel-ehrlich/) > [Finally, the lessons of impermanence taught me this: loss constitutes an odd kind of fullness; despair empties out into an unquenchable appetite for life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretel-ehrlich/finally-the-lessons-of-impermanence-taught-me-this-loss-constitutes/) [Gretel Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretel-ehrlich/) > [If anything is endemic to Wyoming it is wind. This big room of space is swept out daily, leaving a bone yard of fossils,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretel-ehrlich/if-anything-is-endemic-to-wyoming-it-is-wind-this-big-room-of-space/) [Gretel Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretel-ehrlich/) > [Everything in nature invites us constantly to be what we are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretel-ehrlich/everything-in-nature-invites-us-constantly-to-be-what-we-are/) [Gretel Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretel-ehrlich/) > [Between highway sounds I heard waves and thought how the curve of the coastline here had sheltered and nurtured live-born sharks, humans, and migrating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretel-ehrlich/between-highway-sounds-i-heard-waves-and-thought-how-the-curve-of-the/) [Gretel Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretel-ehrlich/) > [Walking is also an ambulation of mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretel-ehrlich/walking-is-also-an-ambulation-of-mind/) [Gretel Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretel-ehrlich/) > [As fog moved to the mainland I heard a flock of birds fly over. They sounded like a dress rustling, a dress being unfastened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretel-ehrlich/as-fog-moved-to-the-mainland-i-heard-a-flock-of-birds-fly-over-they/) [Gretel Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretel-ehrlich/) > [History is not truth versus falsehoods, but a mixture of both, a mélange of tendencies, reactions, dreams, errors, and power plays. What's important is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretel-ehrlich/history-is-not-truth-versus-falsehoods-but-a-mixture-of-both-a-m/) [Gretel Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretel-ehrlich/) > [“What shocks me so is the detachment with which we dispense destruction -- not just bombs, but blows to the head of the earth,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretel-ehrlich/what-shocks-me-so-is-the-detachment-with-which-we-dispense/) [Gretel Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretel-ehrlich/) > [“Like water, I have no skin...only surface tension. (Gretel Ehrlich)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretel-ehrlich/like-water-i-have-no-skin-only-surface-tension-gretel-ehrlich/) [Gretel Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretel-ehrlich/) > [What Flaubert refers to as the “mélancholies du voyage” is like the sadness I feel as one season departs and another arrives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretel-ehrlich/what-flaubert-refers-to-as-the-m-lancholies-du-voyage-is-like-the/) [Gretel Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretel-ehrlich/) > [“Space is an arena where the rowdy particles that are the building blocks of life perform their antics. All spring, things fall; the general…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretel-ehrlich/space-is-an-arena-where-the-rowdy-particles-that-are-the-building/) [Gretel Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretel-ehrlich/) > [There is nothing in nature that can't be taken as a sign of both mortality and invigoration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretel-ehrlich/there-is-nothing-in-nature-that-can-t-be-taken-as-a-sign-of-both/) [Gretel Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretel-ehrlich/) [Explore all 71 Gretel Ehrlich quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretel-ehrlich/) ## More Contemplative quotes > [“Let no one hope to find in contemplation an escape from conflict, from anguish or from doubt. On the contrary, the deep, inexpressible certitude…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/let-no-one-hope-to-find-in-contemplation-an-escape-from-conflict-from/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [Composing a piece of music is very feminine. It is sensitive, emotional, contemplative. By comparison, doing housework is positively masculine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kolb/composing-a-piece-of-music-is-very-feminine-it-is-sensitive-emotional/) Barbara Kolb > [“everything kills everything else in some way. Fishing kills me exactly as it keeps me alive. The boy keeps me alive, he thought. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/everything-kills-everything-else-in-some-way-fishing-kills-me-exactly/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [You cannot grow in the integrative dance of action and contemplation without a strong tolerance for ambiguity, an ability to allow, forgive, and contain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/you-cannot-grow-in-the-integrative-dance-of-action-and-contemplation/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [“I wonder if I am not turning into a contemplative . . . But those roses . They were something else. I was having…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-barbery/i-wonder-if-i-am-not-turning-into-a-contemplative-but-those-roses/) [Muriel Barbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-barbery/) > [A lot of people do their practice. They meditate on compassion. Then they yell at people afterwards. That is not quite working. One of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sakyong-mipham/a-lot-of-people-do-their-practice-they-meditate-on-compassion-then/) [Sakyong Mipham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sakyong-mipham/) > [Fish slowly and thoroughly. Haste never paid dividends. Never wory about the fellow ahead of you. If you start racing to get ahaead of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bergman/fish-slowly-and-thoroughly-haste-never-paid-dividends-never-wory/) [Ray Bergman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bergman/) > [“Oak gave up his room so they could sleep there, and although the bed is small, Cardan cannot mind when he takes Jude in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-black/oak-gave-up-his-room-so-they-could-sleep-there-and-although-the-bed/) [Holly Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-black/) > [Each person comes to have this musical experience, this moment with us, where they get to sink into our world for a little while.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-welch/each-person-comes-to-have-this-musical-experience-this-moment-with-us/) [Gillian Welch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-welch/) > [Since I was introduced to the practice of God's presence, which in turn led me into the contemplative way, I have nearly always felt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-d-mclaren/since-i-was-introduced-to-the-practice-of-god-s-presence-which-in/) [Brian D. McLaren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-d-mclaren/) > [From about 5 years old on, I was very contemplative and started to become constantly filled with nostalgia for the present moment and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-ebert/from-about-5-years-old-on-i-was-very-contemplative-and-started-to/) [Alex Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-ebert/) > [ It is to this silence \[contemplative prayer\] that we all are called. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-nouwen/it-is-to-this-silence-contemplative-prayer-that-we-all-are-called/) [Henri Nouwen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-nouwen/) > [“Contemplative love seeks a heroic deed that can be accomplished without delay and in full view of everyone. Indeed, some people are even ready…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/contemplative-love-seeks-a-heroic-deed-that-can-be-accomplished/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [We become, after the arrival of the printing press in general, more attentive more attuned to contemplative ways of thinking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-g-carr/we-become-after-the-arrival-of-the-printing-press-in-general-more/) [Nicholas G. Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-g-carr/) > [I just think of interesting roles to play. I guess that I have matured, I guess growing up and becoming a man, your taste…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-hartnett/i-just-think-of-interesting-roles-to-play-i-guess-that-i-have-matured/) [Josh Hartnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-hartnett/) [Browse all 237 Contemplative quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contemplative/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I like to think of the landscape not as a fixed place but as a path that is unwinding before my eyes, under my feet. To see and know a place is a contemplative act. 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