--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I would re-create myself, I seek the…" description: "\"When I would re-create myself, I seek the darkest wood, the thickest and most interminable and to the citizen, most dismal, swamp. I enter as a sacred ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b1/henry-david-thoreau-20_citizens_when-i-would-re-create-myself-i-seek-the_1881044.jpg" --- # When I would re-create myself, I seek the darkest wood… ![“When I would re-create myself, I seek the darkest wood, the thickest and most interminable and to the citizen, most dismal, swamp. I enter as a sacred place, a Sanctum sanctorum. There is the strength, the marrow, of Nature.” quote by Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b1/henry-david-thoreau-20_citizens_when-i-would-re-create-myself-i-seek-the_1881044.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b1/henry-david-thoreau-20_citizens_when-i-would-re-create-myself-i-seek-the_1881044.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b1/henry-david-thoreau-20_citizens_when-i-would-re-create-myself-i-seek-the_1881044.jpg) > “When I would re-create myself, I seek the darkest wood, the thickest and most interminable and to the citizen, most dismal, swamp. I enter as a sacred place, a Sanctum sanctorum. There is the strength, the marrow, of Nature.” [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Thoreau describes retreating into deep, dark wilderness as a sacred sanctuary where one can find nature’s raw strength and essence. **In simple terms:** He finds deep woods a holy place for renewal. Key Takeaway Seek solitude in nature for inner strength. Themes solitude nature renewal spirituality self‑discovery Mood contemplative reverent introspective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal reflection - creative inspiration - stress relief - spiritual practice Key Concepts transcendentalism inner strength natural philosophy Questions to Reflect On - What does the dark forest symbolize for you? - How can you balance solitude with community? A Different Perspective Such isolation can become escapism, avoiding societal responsibilities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Citizens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/citizens/) [Darkest Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkest-wood-2656493/) [Gardening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gardening/) [Marrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marrow/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Place Sanctum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/place-sanctum-2656494/) [Sacred](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sacred/) [Sacred places](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sacred-places/) [Sanctum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sanctum-612281/) [Sanctum Sanctorum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sanctum-sanctorum-612282/) [Seek Darkest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seek-darkest-2656492/) [Spirituality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirituality/) [Strength](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strength/) [Swamps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/swamps/) [Woods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/woods/) ## Related quotes > [To the virtuous man, the universe is the only sanctum sanctorum, and the penetralia of the temple are the broad noon of his existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/to-the-virtuous-man-the-universe-is-the-only-sanctum-sanctorum-and/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“... the All is everywhere, and anywhere may become the seat of power. 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I hear silence, like the mind of God. I feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-whitcomb/the-library-smells-like-old-books-a-thousand-leather-doorways-into/) [Laura Whitcomb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-whitcomb/) > [You must have a room, or a certain hour or so a day, where you don’t know what was in the newspapers that morning,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/you-must-have-a-room-or-a-certain-hour-or-so-a-day-where-you-don-t/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [Pilgrimage means being alert to the times when all that's needed is a trip to a remote place to simply lose yourself, and to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-cousineau/pilgrimage-means-being-alert-to-the-times-when-all-that-s-needed-is-a/) [Phil Cousineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-cousineau/) ## More by Henry David Thoreau > [If ever I did a man any goodof course it was something exceptional and insignificant compared with the good or evil which I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/if-ever-i-did-a-man-any-goodof-course-it-was-something-exceptional/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. 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Moreover I have tried it fairly and, strange as it may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/as-for-doing-good-that-is-one-of-the-professions-which-is-full/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [A traveler who looks at things with an impartial eye may see what the oldest inhabitant has not observed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/a-traveler-who-looks-at-things-with-an-impartial-eye-may-see-what-the/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [In proportion as our inward life fails, we go more constantly and desperately to the post office. You may depend on it, that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/in-proportion-as-our-inward-life-fails-we-go-more-constantly-and/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I had three chairs in my house; one for solitude, two for friendship, three for society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-had-three-chairs-in-my-house-one-for-solitude-two-for-friendship/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The still youthful energies of the globe have only to be directed in their proper channel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-still-youthful-energies-of-the-globe-have-only-to-be-directed-in/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Concord's little arch does not span all our fate, nor is what transpires under it law for the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/concord-s-little-arch-does-not-span-all-our-fate-nor-is-what/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The lumberers rarely trouble themselves to put out their fires, such is the dampness of the primitive forest; and this is one cause, no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-lumberers-rarely-trouble-themselves-to-put-out-their-fires-such/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“When he has obtained those things which are necessary to life, there is another alternative than to obtain the superfluities; and that is, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/when-he-has-obtained-those-things-which-are-necessary-to-life-there/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Wealth is measured by the level of experience in all aspects of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/wealth-is-measured-by-the-level-of-experience-in-all-aspects-of-life/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) [Explore all 3,376 Henry David Thoreau quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) ## More Citizens quotes > [Politics is not an issue whether you like or dislike , but every citizen must involve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khem-veasna/politics-is-not-an-issue-whether-you-like-or-dislike-but-every/) [Khem Veasna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khem-veasna/) > [I will be a model prisoner, as I have been a model citizen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-edwards/i-will-be-a-model-prisoner-as-i-have-been-a-model-citizen/) [Edwin Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-edwards/) > [The language we share is at the core of our identity as citizens, and our ticket to full participation in American political life. 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He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-shaffer/worship-isn-t-destructive-martin-i-know-that-i-don-t-i-only-know-it-s/) [Peter Shaffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-shaffer/) > [No greater victory can be won by citizens or soldiers than to transform temporary foes into permanent friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-jennings-bryan/no-greater-victory-can-be-won-by-citizens-or-soldiers-than-to/) [William Jennings Bryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-jennings-bryan/) > [Let us at all times remember that all American citizens are brothers of a common country, and should dwell together in bonds of fraternal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/let-us-at-all-times-remember-that-all-american-citizens-are-brothers/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [A free society depends upon a high degree of mutual trust. The public will not give that trust to officials who are not seen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archibald-cox/a-free-society-depends-upon-a-high-degree-of-mutual-trust-the-public/) [Archibald Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archibald-cox/) > [My dreams were always small and puny. All I ever needed was a little house with a little picket fence by the sea. Little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/imelda-marcos/my-dreams-were-always-small-and-puny-all-i-ever-needed-was-a-little/) [Imelda Marcos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/imelda-marcos/) > [The average ordinary citizen can do a lot of different things when it comes to the climate crisis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-bender/the-average-ordinary-citizen-can-do-a-lot-of-different-things-when-it/) [Lawrence Bender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-bender/) > [I think most of us are raised with preconceived notions of the choices we're supposed to make. 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