--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have often thought that my work with…" description: "\"I have often thought that my work with wildlife taught me the meaning of patience, and my work with the big trees taught me the meaning of humility, an..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6de/james-balog-18078_bigs_i-have-often-thought-that-my-work-with-w_1254033.png" --- # I have often thought that my work with wildlife taught me… ![“I have often thought that my work with wildlife taught me the meaning of patience, and my work with the big trees taught me the meaning of humility, and my work with the ice has taught me the meaning of mortality.” quote by James Balog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6de/james-balog-18078_bigs_i-have-often-thought-that-my-work-with-w_1254033.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6de/james-balog-18078_bigs_i-have-often-thought-that-my-work-with-w_1254033.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6de/james-balog-18078_bigs_i-have-often-thought-that-my-work-with-w_1254033.png) > “I have often thought that my work with wildlife taught me the meaning of patience, and my work with the big trees taught me the meaning of humility, and my work with the ice has taught me the meaning of mortality.” [James Balog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-balog/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Working with nature reveals patience, humility, and mortality. **In simple terms:** Nature teaches patience, humility, and mortality. Key Takeaway Learn from nature's lessons. Themes environment patience humility mortality Mood contemplative inspirational Type reflective motivational When to use this quote - photography - conservation - education - personal growth - policy advocacy Key Concepts ecology wildlife climate change Questions to Reflect On - What does patience look like in your work? - How does confronting mortality change your priorities? A Different Perspective Human impact can alter natural cycles, challenging humility. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Humility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humility/) [Ice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ice/) [Mortality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mortality/) [Patience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patience/) [Tree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tree/) [Wildlife](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wildlife/) ## Related quotes > [I'm a cat person, I'm a dog person, I work in wildlife rescue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-ostrosky-stern/i-m-a-cat-person-i-m-a-dog-person-i-work-in-wildlife-rescue/) [Beth Ostrosky Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-ostrosky-stern/) > [A lot of people who work with wildlife work with wildlife to satisfy their own egos. And I don't really agree with that. What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-irwin/a-lot-of-people-who-work-with-wildlife-work-with-wildlife-to-satisfy/) [Steve Irwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-irwin/) > [It is not humility to insist on being someone that you are not. It is as much as saying that you know better than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/it-is-not-humility-to-insist-on-being-someone-that-you-are-not-it-is/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [I've worked on my game, and I don't think it has any holes, no weaknesses. I say that with humility because you can always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezekiel-elliott/i-ve-worked-on-my-game-and-i-don-t-think-it-has-any-holes-no/) [Ezekiel Elliott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezekiel-elliott/) > [My father taught us to serve with strength and clear-minded conviction, but to do so with humility, to work in the Oval Office on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-bush/my-father-taught-us-to-serve-with-strength-and-clear-minded/) [Neil Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-bush/) > [When I worked with wildlife a lot in the Eighties and Nineties, I learnt the meaning of patience. And when I worked with trees,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-balog/when-i-worked-with-wildlife-a-lot-in-the-eighties-and-nineties-i/) [James Balog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-balog/) > [“The future of wildlife and the habitat that they depend on is being destroyed. It is time to make nature and all the beauty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-oxton/the-future-of-wildlife-and-the-habitat-that-they-depend-on-is-being/) [Paul Oxton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-oxton/) > [“When you are where wild bears live you learn to pay attention to the rhythm of the land and yourself. Bears not only make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-jo-hunter/when-you-are-where-wild-bears-live-you-learn-to-pay-attention-to-the/) Linda Jo Hunter > [I think my path would have always gone back to or delivered me to wildlife. I think wildlife is just like a magnet, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-irwin/i-think-my-path-would-have-always-gone-back-to-or-delivered-me-to/) [Steve Irwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-irwin/) > [“Ah, but when one predator leaves, another inevitably will take its place. A void never remains a void for long.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-t-baron/ah-but-when-one-predator-leaves-another-inevitably-will-take-its/) A.T. Baron > [There is a limit to political and public tolerance for sacrifice on behalf of wildlife.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-rinella/there-is-a-limit-to-political-and-public-tolerance-for-sacrifice-on/) [Steven Rinella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-rinella/) > [Some Iranian doctors from Europe and America go to Iran and operate for free or teach medical students there. The other day, I met…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farah-diba/some-iranian-doctors-from-europe-and-america-go-to-iran-and-operate/) [Farah Diba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farah-diba/) > [Are humans ever going to get smart enough to realize how cruel it is to eliminate entire species that we think are annoying? Will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jomon-johny/are-humans-ever-going-to-get-smart-enough-to-realize-how-cruel-it-is/) Jomon Johny > [Go afield with a good attitude, with respect for the wildlife you hunt and for the forest and fields in which you walk. Immerse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-bear/go-afield-with-a-good-attitude-with-respect-for-the-wildlife-you-hunt/) [Fred Bear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-bear/) > [After 20 years of painting wildlife subjects in acrylic, I felt the need for a change and began to explore portraiture and landscape in oils.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-parker/after-20-years-of-painting-wildlife-subjects-in-acrylic-i-felt-the/) Ron Parker ## More by James Balog > [We still carry this old caveman-imprint idea that we're small, nature's big, and it's everything we can manage to hang on and survive. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-balog/we-still-carry-this-old-caveman-imprint-idea-that-we-re-small-nature/) [James Balog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-balog/) > [Climate change should not fundamentally be seen as a political or partisan issue, but it has been turned into a political football primarily by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-balog/climate-change-should-not-fundamentally-be-seen-as-a-political-or/) [James Balog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-balog/) > [Once upon a time, I was a climate-change skeptic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-balog/once-upon-a-time-i-was-a-climate-change-skeptic/) [James Balog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-balog/) > [I've always believed that photography is a way to shape human perception.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-balog/i-ve-always-believed-that-photography-is-a-way-to-shape-human/) [James Balog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-balog/) > [Ultimately, we have to ask ourselves an essential spiritual and ethical question: Are we the kind of people who take everything for ourselves and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-balog/ultimately-we-have-to-ask-ourselves-an-essential-spiritual-and/) [James Balog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-balog/) > [You know, I've read Joseph Conrad's 'Heart of Darkness' about fifteen times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-balog/you-know-i-ve-read-joseph-conrad-s-heart-of-darkness-about-fifteen/) [James Balog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-balog/) > [Hindsight can be merciless. People of any given era often look back in time and wonder how their predecessors could have been so dimwitted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-balog/hindsight-can-be-merciless-people-of-any-given-era-often-look-back-in/) [James Balog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-balog/) > [It's important to recognise that humans are not the measure of all things... The Earth is the measure of all things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-balog/it-s-important-to-recognise-that-humans-are-not-the-measure-of-all/) [James Balog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-balog/) > [The problem is almost everybody is just recording the world with home photographic toys, not doing metaphor or ideas. We have a photographic culture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-balog/the-problem-is-almost-everybody-is-just-recording-the-world-with-home/) [James Balog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-balog/) > [When I worked with wildlife a lot in the Eighties and Nineties, I learnt the meaning of patience. And when I worked with trees,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-balog/when-i-worked-with-wildlife-a-lot-in-the-eighties-and-nineties-i/) [James Balog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-balog/) > [I've got at least two major project ideas that I've been chewing on for several years in my head and I've been trying to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-balog/i-ve-got-at-least-two-major-project-ideas-that-i-ve-been-chewing-on/) [James Balog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-balog/) > [You know, we humans are programmed to think that big changes on the Earth happened a long time ago, or will happen a long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-balog/you-know-we-humans-are-programmed-to-think-that-big-changes-on-the/) [James Balog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-balog/) > [I was raised a Catholic as a boy and went to a Catholic boys' high school, a private school, and kind of drifted away,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-balog/i-was-raised-a-catholic-as-a-boy-and-went-to-a-catholic-boys-high/) [James Balog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-balog/) > [Climate change is a really abstract thing in most of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-balog/climate-change-is-a-really-abstract-thing-in-most-of-the-world/) [James Balog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-balog/) > [Early in my career I discovered that there was something really special about photographing at night that places your mind on the surface of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-balog/early-in-my-career-i-discovered-that-there-was-something-really/) [James Balog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-balog/) [Explore all 35 James Balog quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-balog/) ## More Bigs quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [It is said that history turns on small hinges. A human career, too, results from an accumulating series of decisions about large and small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/it-is-said-that-history-turns-on-small-hinges-a-human-career-too/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [I'm a true believer in prayer, a big believer in prayer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-jackson/i-m-a-true-believer-in-prayer-a-big-believer-in-prayer/) [Janet Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-jackson/) > [The biggest change for me as a mom was realizing I needed to put someone else before me. Now the hardest part about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-alexis/the-biggest-change-for-me-as-a-mom-was-realizing-i-needed-to-put/) [Kim Alexis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-alexis/) > [I'm a big fan of all the Boston guys that are acting - Matt Damon , Ben Affleck, Mark Wahlberg - they made a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-wormald/i-m-a-big-fan-of-all-the-boston-guys-that-are-acting-matt-damon-ben/) [Kenny Wormald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-wormald/) > [The only regret I have in my career, is my managers wanted a big payday, and I wanted four or five more fights before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerry-cooney/the-only-regret-i-have-in-my-career-is-my-managers-wanted-a-big/) [Gerry Cooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerry-cooney/) > [It goes to show you how we in the press so often miss the big stories that are right under our noses. There is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ebert/it-goes-to-show-you-how-we-in-the-press-so-often-miss-the-big-stories/) [Roger Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ebert/) > [Okay, so I'll admit I'm curious. Big deal. We both know what that leads to. Dead cat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-elizabeth-phillips/okay-so-i-ll-admit-i-m-curious-big-deal-we-both-know-what-that-leads/) [Susan Elizabeth Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-elizabeth-phillips/) > [I don't want this to be a distraction. This has been distracting enough. I'm not going to rehash this going forward. I'm sure other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jayson-werth/i-don-t-want-this-to-be-a-distraction-this-has-been-distracting/) [Jayson Werth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jayson-werth/) > [I didn't get how big it was until I went home, turned on the television and saw it on all the news, and later…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simon/i-didn-t-get-how-big-it-was-until-i-went-home-turned-on-the/) [Paul Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simon/) > [It’s a small thing to help one animal, but to that one animal it’s a big thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-baur/it-s-a-small-thing-to-help-one-animal-but-to-that-one-animal-it-s-a/) [Gene Baur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-baur/) > [Since I was a little child, my nose - I think it's too big.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/celine-dion/since-i-was-a-little-child-my-nose-i-think-it-s-too-big/) [Celine Dion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/celine-dion/) > [People forget that there is a big difference between coercion and persuasion. The idea that evangelism is coercive is nonsense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/people-forget-that-there-is-a-big-difference-between-coercion-and/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [I turn a lot of stuff down - big, big movies, the kind I wouldn't want to go to the cinema to see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-fox/i-turn-a-lot-of-stuff-down-big-big-movies-the-kind-i-wouldn-t-want-to/) [Matthew Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-fox/) > [I got in trouble my whole life for having a big mouth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-tyler/i-got-in-trouble-my-whole-life-for-having-a-big-mouth/) [Steven Tyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-tyler/) Browse all 15,539 Bigs quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I have often thought that my work with wildlife taught me the meaning of patience, and my work with the big trees taught me the meaning of humility, and my work with the ice has taught me the meaning of mortality.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "James Balog" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-balog/i-have-often-thought-that-my-work-with-wildlife-taught-me-the-meaning/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bigs" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-balog/i-have-often-thought-that-my-work-with-wildlife-taught-me-the-meaning/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6de/james-balog-18078_bigs_i-have-often-thought-that-my-work-with-w_1254033.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6de/james-balog-18078_bigs_i-have-often-thought-that-my-work-with-w_1254033.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6de/james-balog-18078_bigs_i-have-often-thought-that-my-work-with-w_1254033.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I have often thought that my work with wildlife taught me the meaning of patience, and my work with the big…” — James Balog", "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": "James Balog", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-balog/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I have often thought that my...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-balog/i-have-often-thought-that-my-work-with-wildlife-taught-me-the-meaning/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-balog/i-have-often-thought-that-my-work-with-wildlife-taught-me-the-meaning/#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 } } ] } ```