--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think plants present an opportunity for…" description: "\"I think plants present an opportunity for people to look closely at something and get invested in something that's truly very much outside of themselve..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fff/hope-jahren-4468_flower_i-think-plants-present-an-opportunity-fo_3139718.jpg" --- # I think plants present an opportunity for people to look… ![“I think plants present an opportunity for people to look closely at something and get invested in something that's truly very much outside of themselves.” quote by Hope Jahren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fff/hope-jahren-4468_flower_i-think-plants-present-an-opportunity-fo_3139718.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fff/hope-jahren-4468_flower_i-think-plants-present-an-opportunity-fo_3139718.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fff/hope-jahren-4468_flower_i-think-plants-present-an-opportunity-fo_3139718.jpg) > “I think plants present an opportunity for people to look closely at something and get invested in something that's truly very much outside of themselves.” [Hope Jahren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hope-jahren/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Plants invite people to observe and connect with life beyond themselves, fostering humility and curiosity. **In simple terms:** Plants help us see beyond ourselves. Key Takeaway Use nature to expand self-awareness. Themes nature curiosity humility Mood inspirational contemplative Type educational philosophical When to use this quote - gardening - science education - mental health - spiritual practice Key Concepts ecology mindfulness Questions to Reflect On - What does observing a plant teach you about yourself? - How can you integrate nature into daily life? A Different Perspective People may feel disconnected from nature in urban settings. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Flower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flower/) [Gardening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gardening/) [Opportunity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opportunity/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Plants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plants/) ## Related quotes > [I am a scientist who studies plants. I like plants. I think about plants almost every hour of the day, and several hours of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-jahren/i-am-a-scientist-who-studies-plants-i-like-plants-i-think-about/) [Hope Jahren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hope-jahren/) > [It's fun to think about plants not just as decorations but as functioning parts of our yard's ecosystem that attract wildlife to the garden.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-center/it-s-fun-to-think-about-plants-not-just-as-decorations-but-as/) [Katherine Center](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-center/) > [Plants are decisive to a fault. A stem produces a bud that flowers once and once only. It offers pollen that is either dispersed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-jahren/plants-are-decisive-to-a-fault-a-stem-produces-a-bud-that-flowers/) [Hope Jahren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hope-jahren/) > [All the plants in my house are dead - I shot them last night. I was teasing them by watering them with ice cubes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/all-the-plants-in-my-house-are-dead-i-shot-them-last-night-i-was/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Gardening is easy. Stick it in the ground the right way up and most plants will grow perfectly well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monty-don/gardening-is-easy-stick-it-in-the-ground-the-right-way-up-and-most/) [Monty Don](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monty-don/) > [“The plants in the garden - the aloes, the almond tree, the rose tree and the iris - were afraid of her. The flowers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hendrik-cramer/the-plants-in-the-garden-the-aloes-the-almond-tree-the-rose-tree-and/) Hendrik Cramer > [The plants look up to heaven, from whence they have their nourishment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/the-plants-look-up-to-heaven-from-whence-they-have-their-nourishment/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [If every seed turned into a plant, we'd be living in a very different world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-jahren/if-every-seed-turned-into-a-plant-we-d-be-living-in-a-very-different/) [Hope Jahren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hope-jahren/) > [While both plants and animals awaken via distinct changes in metabolic functioning, most plants prefer to err on the side of caution, waiting for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-jahren/while-both-plants-and-animals-awaken-via-distinct-changes-in/) [Hope Jahren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hope-jahren/) > [I am not a farmer; I am a researcher who studies the plants that come to your dinner table, which means that I ask…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-jahren/i-am-not-a-farmer-i-am-a-researcher-who-studies-the-plants-that-come/) [Hope Jahren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hope-jahren/) > [Plants are not like us, and the more you study plants, the more different and deep ways you see that they are not like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-jahren/plants-are-not-like-us-and-the-more-you-study-plants-the-more/) [Hope Jahren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hope-jahren/) > [My father was a physicist, while I am a biogeochemist. I live to study plants, and he has never had more than a generic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-jahren/my-father-was-a-physicist-while-i-am-a-biogeochemist-i-live-to-study/) [Hope Jahren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hope-jahren/) > [I like weeds and hardy plants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-jahren/i-like-weeds-and-hardy-plants/) [Hope Jahren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hope-jahren/) > [I bet plants go like 'Weeeeeeeee!' whenever they're swallowed by a giraffe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-bet-plants-go-like-weeeeeeeee-whenever-they-re-swallowed-by-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“As dreams are the healing songs from the wilderness of our unconscious - So wild animals, wild plants, wild landscapes are the healing dreams…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-pendell/as-dreams-are-the-healing-songs-from-the-wilderness-of-our/) [Dale Pendell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-pendell/) ## More by Hope Jahren > [A tree's wood is also its memoir.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-jahren/a-tree-s-wood-is-also-its-memoir/) [Hope Jahren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hope-jahren/) > [“You and I are going to work our asses off, teach them shit over and over, risk our fucking lives for them, and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-jahren/you-and-i-are-going-to-work-our-asses-off-teach-them-shit-over-and/) [Hope Jahren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hope-jahren/) > [Men and women study things differently, and it's not because of our chromosomes. It's a product of our cultural conditioning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-jahren/men-and-women-study-things-differently-and-it-s-not-because-of-our/) [Hope Jahren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hope-jahren/) > [One thing that was very important to me was that I felt comfortable in the lab from being very, very small. I knew that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-jahren/one-thing-that-was-very-important-to-me-was-that-i-felt-comfortable/) [Hope Jahren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hope-jahren/) > [If every seed turned into a plant, we'd be living in a very different world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-jahren/if-every-seed-turned-into-a-plant-we-d-be-living-in-a-very-different/) [Hope Jahren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hope-jahren/) > [The live oak can grow sturdily on the hottest hills of central California, contrasting dark green against the golden grass.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-jahren/the-live-oak-can-grow-sturdily-on-the-hottest-hills-of-central/) [Hope Jahren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hope-jahren/) > [I grew up playing with kids who were the kids of people my parents grew up playing with, and they know me like nobody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-jahren/i-grew-up-playing-with-kids-who-were-the-kids-of-people-my-parents/) [Hope Jahren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hope-jahren/) > [The world breaks a little bit every time we cut down a tree. It's so much easier to cut one down than to grow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-jahren/the-world-breaks-a-little-bit-every-time-we-cut-down-a-tree-it-s-so/) [Hope Jahren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hope-jahren/) > [For a tree, to endure four months of daylight is like you or I going without sleep for four months.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-jahren/for-a-tree-to-endure-four-months-of-daylight-is-like-you-or-i-going/) [Hope Jahren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hope-jahren/) > [I feel like I'm the same scientist I was back when I couldn't get a grant. Now I'm that same person thinking that same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-jahren/i-feel-like-i-m-the-same-scientist-i-was-back-when-i-couldn-t-get-a/) [Hope Jahren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hope-jahren/) > [Plants are decisive to a fault. A stem produces a bud that flowers once and once only. It offers pollen that is either dispersed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-jahren/plants-are-decisive-to-a-fault-a-stem-produces-a-bud-that-flowers/) [Hope Jahren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hope-jahren/) > [Even a very little girl can wield a slide rule, the cursor serving as a haft.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-jahren/even-a-very-little-girl-can-wield-a-slide-rule-the-cursor-serving-as/) [Hope Jahren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hope-jahren/) > [“People will tell you that you have to know math to be a scientist, or physics or chemistry. They’re wrong. That’s like saying you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-jahren/people-will-tell-you-that-you-have-to-know-math-to-be-a-scientist-or/) [Hope Jahren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hope-jahren/) > [No matter how much funding I get, I'm always thinking, 'This is temporary. This is fragile. It could all end tomorrow, and how am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-jahren/no-matter-how-much-funding-i-get-i-m-always-thinking-this-is/) [Hope Jahren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hope-jahren/) > [“Everybody does all kinds of shit that they don’t know why they do. They just know that they have to,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-jahren/everybody-does-all-kinds-of-shit-that-they-don-t-know-why-they-do/) [Hope Jahren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hope-jahren/) [Explore all 110 Hope Jahren quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hope-jahren/) ## More Flower quotes > [“It is not the force of the wind, but the depth of the roots.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/it-is-not-the-force-of-the-wind-but-the-depth-of-the-roots/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [A Light exists in Spring Not present on the Year At any other period - When March is scarcely here A Color stands abroad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/a-light-exists-in-spring-not-present-on-the-year-at-any-other-period/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [Set NOT your hearts on the flowers of this world. They shall fade and die. Prize the Rose of Sharon and the Lily of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/set-not-your-hearts-on-the-flowers-of-this-world-they-shall-fade-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Most girls get flowers or candy. I get a declaration of martial law.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-shearin/most-girls-get-flowers-or-candy-i-get-a-declaration-of-martial-law/) [Lisa Shearin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-shearin/) > [One of the deepest and strangest of all human moods is the mood which will suddenly strike us perhaps in a garden at night,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-of-the-deepest-and-strangest-of-all-human-moods-is-the-mood-which/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Spring training means flowers, people coming outdoors, sunshine, optimism and baseball. Spring training is a time to think about being young again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernie-banks/spring-training-means-flowers-people-coming-outdoors-sunshine/) [Ernie Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernie-banks/) > [Sometimes, sometimes it is really difficult to turn and walk away from someone you have loved and cherished for so long. You know deep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-kreger/sometimes-sometimes-it-is-really-difficult-to-turn-and-walk-away-from/) [David Kreger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-kreger/) > [This, at last, was where things were as they ought to be. Everything was in its place -- the tree, the earth underneath, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-liedloff/this-at-last-was-where-things-were-as-they-ought-to-be-everything-was/) [Jean Liedloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-liedloff/) > [A garden has a curious innocent way of consuming cash while all the time you are under the illusion that you are spending nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-meynell/a-garden-has-a-curious-innocent-way-of-consuming-cash-while-all-the/) [Esther Meynell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-meynell/) > [My days – the blossom of my youth and the flower of my manhood – have been darkened by the dreariness of servitude. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-o-connell/my-days-the-blossom-of-my-youth-and-the-flower-of-my-manhood-have/) [Daniel O'Connell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-o-connell/) > [My life is a crystal teardrop. There are snowflakes falling in the teardrop and little figures trudging in slow motion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-baez/my-life-is-a-crystal-teardrop-there-are-snowflakes-falling-in-the/) [Joan Baez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-baez/) > [“But any picture could deal with the problem of light. The problem with this picture is greater than that of reflective surfaces - it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitney-otto/but-any-picture-could-deal-with-the-problem-of-light-the-problem-with/) [Whitney Otto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitney-otto/) > [“I promise to respect and protect your aloneness, knowing that everything created must have its period of darkness: child and bulb, poem and personality.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/i-promise-to-respect-and-protect-your-aloneness-knowing-that/) [anne morrow lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/) > [Sometimes it's about less is more. It's about the seed. Thinking about this gigantic tree that you think is so beautiful but it started…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-durst/sometimes-it-s-about-less-is-more-it-s-about-the-seed-thinking-about/) [Fred Durst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-durst/) > [There are two kinds of beauty; there is a beauty which God gives at birth, and which withers as a flower. And there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-kuyper/there-are-two-kinds-of-beauty-there-is-a-beauty-which-god-gives-at/) [Abraham Kuyper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-kuyper/) [Browse all 12,347 Flower quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flower/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think plants present an opportunity for people to look closely at something and get invested in something that's truly very much outside of themselves.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Hope Jahren" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-jahren/i-think-plants-present-an-opportunity-for-people-to-look-closely-at/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Flower" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-jahren/i-think-plants-present-an-opportunity-for-people-to-look-closely-at/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fff/hope-jahren-4468_flower_i-think-plants-present-an-opportunity-fo_3139718.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fff/hope-jahren-4468_flower_i-think-plants-present-an-opportunity-fo_3139718.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fff/hope-jahren-4468_flower_i-think-plants-present-an-opportunity-fo_3139718.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I think plants present an opportunity for people to look closely at something and get invested in something…” — Hope Jahren", "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": "Hope Jahren", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hope-jahren/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I think plants present an opportunity...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-jahren/i-think-plants-present-an-opportunity-for-people-to-look-closely-at/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-jahren/i-think-plants-present-an-opportunity-for-people-to-look-closely-at/#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 } } ] } ```