--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A tree lives on its roots. If you change…" description: "\"A tree lives on its roots. If you change the root, you change the tree. Culture lives in human beings. If you change the human heart the culture will f..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a55/jane-hirshfield-2649_change_a-tree-lives-on-its-roots-if-you-change_2779353.png" --- # A tree lives on its roots. If you change the root, you… ![“A tree lives on its roots. If you change the root, you change the tree. Culture lives in human beings. If you change the human heart the culture will follow.” quote by Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a55/jane-hirshfield-2649_change_a-tree-lives-on-its-roots-if-you-change_2779353.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a55/jane-hirshfield-2649_change_a-tree-lives-on-its-roots-if-you-change_2779353.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a55/jane-hirshfield-2649_change_a-tree-lives-on-its-roots-if-you-change_2779353.png) > “A tree lives on its roots. If you change the root, you change the tree. Culture lives in human beings. If you change the human heart the culture will follow.” [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Culture mirrors the human heart; changing hearts transforms culture, like roots shape a tree. **In simple terms:** Changing hearts changes culture. Key Takeaway Cultivate inner change for societal shift. Themes culture identity transformation Mood thoughtful hopeful Type poetic reflective When to use this quote - education reform - community building - personal growth Key Concepts sociology philosophy Questions to Reflect On - What inner changes can you make? - How does personal growth affect your community? A Different Perspective Deep change can be slow and resisted. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Change Tree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change-tree-743936/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Culture Lives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture-lives-3298018/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Human beings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-beings/) [Human heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-heart/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Root Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/root-change-3223963/) [Roots](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/roots/) [Roots Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/roots-change-3298017/) [Tree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tree/) [Tree Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tree-culture-2326722/) [Tree of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tree-of-life/) [Trees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trees/) ## Related quotes > [“Manifestation is a root of Perception, Change in root is change in perception.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-basit-rana-mbr/manifestation-is-a-root-of-perception-change-in-root-is-change-in/) [Muhammad Basit Rana -MBR](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-basit-rana-mbr/) > [NPR allowed me to treat sports seriously, as another branch on the tree of culture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-deford/npr-allowed-me-to-treat-sports-seriously-as-another-branch-on-the/) [Frank Deford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-deford/) > [Real culture lives by sympathies and admirations, not by dislikes and disdains; under all misleading wrappings it pounces unerringly upon the human core.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/real-culture-lives-by-sympathies-and-admirations-not-by-dislikes-and/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [If you don't like how something is going for you, change it. If something isn't enough, change it. If something doesn't suit you, change…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/if-you-don-t-like-how-something-is-going-for-you-change-it-if/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [If you dont like where you are, then change it. You are not a tree.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-dont-like-where-you-are-then-change-it-you-are-not-a-tree/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [All true opinions are living, and show their life by being capable of nourishment; therefore of change. But their change is that of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/all-true-opinions-are-living-and-show-their-life-by-being-capable-of/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) > [If you don't like where you are, then change it. You are not a tree!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/if-you-don-t-like-where-you-are-then-change-it-you-are-not-a-tree/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [Not that I want to be a god or a hero. Just to change into a tree, grow for ages, not hurt anyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/czeslaw-milosz/not-that-i-want-to-be-a-god-or-a-hero-just-to-change-into-a-tree-grow/) [Czeslaw Milosz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/czeslaw-milosz/) > [“If you don't like something, change it. You are not a tree.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/if-you-don-t-like-something-change-it-you-are-not-a-tree/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [If you don't like how things are, change it! You're not a tree.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/if-you-don-t-like-how-things-are-change-it-you-re-not-a-tree/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [If you don't like where you are, change it. You're not a tree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-marie/if-you-don-t-like-where-you-are-change-it-you-re-not-a-tree/) [Megan Marie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-marie/) > [And if I may be so bold to offer my last piece of advice for someone seeking and needing to make changes in their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/and-if-i-may-be-so-bold-to-offer-my-last-piece-of-advice-for-someone/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [“The Tree of Life is really all about the understanding that we are all dependent upon each other.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-vickers/the-tree-of-life-is-really-all-about-the-understanding-that-we-are/) [Lee Vickers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-vickers/) > [And on the Tree of Life, The middle tree and highest there that grew, Sat like a cormorant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/and-on-the-tree-of-life-the-middle-tree-and-highest-there-that-grew/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) > [“We seek a metaphor for holy words that will return them to us once again as an ayfz hayim, a tree of life (Prov.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-kushner/we-seek-a-metaphor-for-holy-words-that-will-return-them-to-us-once/) [Lawrence Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-kushner/) ## More by Jane Hirshfield > [I don't have a cell phone (though for years I've kept saying, "soon").](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/i-don-t-have-a-cell-phone-though-for-years-i-ve-kept-saying-soon/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [I once was asked to contribute to a mushroom poem anthology. I didn't have anything, and so instead ended up writing the introduction. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/i-once-was-asked-to-contribute-to-a-mushroom-poem-anthology-i-didn-t/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [Everything has two endings- a horse, a piece of string, a phone call. Before a life, air. And after. As silence is not silence,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/everything-has-two-endings-a-horse-a-piece-of-string-a-phone-call/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [A certain amount of housekeeping also goes on in my poems. I wash doorknobs, do dishes, mop floors, patch carpets, cook.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/a-certain-amount-of-housekeeping-also-goes-on-in-my-poems-i-wash/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [Self carries grief as a pack mule carries the side bags, being careful between the trees to leave extra room.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/self-carries-grief-as-a-pack-mule-carries-the-side-bags-being-careful/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [My job as a human being as well as a writer is to feel as thoroughly as possible the experience that I am part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/my-job-as-a-human-being-as-well-as-a-writer-is-to-feel-as-thoroughly/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [I want to preserve a certain unknowing about my own poems - perhaps because unknowing is in itself a useful poetic thirst. To move…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/i-want-to-preserve-a-certain-unknowing-about-my-own-poems-perhaps/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [Habit, laziness, and fear conspire to keep us comfortably within the familiar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/habit-laziness-and-fear-conspire-to-keep-us-comfortably-within-the/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [In order to gain anything, you must first lose everything](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/in-order-to-gain-anything-you-must-first-lose-everything/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [The same words come from each mouth differently.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/the-same-words-come-from-each-mouth-differently/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [Metaphors think with the imagination and the senses. The hot chili peppers in them explode in the mouth and the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/metaphors-think-with-the-imagination-and-the-senses-the-hot-chili/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [Your fate is to be yourself, both punishment and crime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/your-fate-is-to-be-yourself-both-punishment-and-crime/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [Near even a candle, the visible heat. So it is with a person in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/near-even-a-candle-the-visible-heat-so-it-is-with-a-person-in-love/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [At some point I realized that you don't get a full human life if you try to cut off one end of it, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/at-some-point-i-realized-that-you-don-t-get-a-full-human-life-if-you/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [Immensity is always there, but we so often become numb to it, or deceive ourselves into thinking our own lives and selves are what's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/immensity-is-always-there-but-we-so-often-become-numb-to-it-or/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) [Explore all 156 Jane Hirshfield quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) ## More Change quotes > [Only within yourself exists the other reality for which you long. I can give you nothing that has not already its being within yourself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/only-within-yourself-exists-the-other-reality-for-which-you-long-i/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I can't believe that I'm sitting in meetings with Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Annette Bening. I want to take on that responsibility to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-can-t-believe-that-i-m-sitting-in-meetings-with-steven-spielberg/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [“…progress isn't necessarily about change but about things turning out as we want them to”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-hogan/progress-isn-t-necessarily-about-change-but-about-things-turning-out/) [Phil Hogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-hogan/) > [Nobody can tell me that no changes are necessary in Washington.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-weld/nobody-can-tell-me-that-no-changes-are-necessary-in-washington/) [William Weld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-weld/) > [If my campaign is not in the debate, we will not be talking about how we really fix this problem of endless and expanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/if-my-campaign-is-not-in-the-debate-we-will-not-be-talking-about-how/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [When you walk down the street of Kabul your values for life changes, they do change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-pierre-white/when-you-walk-down-the-street-of-kabul-your-values-for-life-changes/) [Marco Pierre White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-pierre-white/) > [Your world will change whether or not you choose to change, but you have the power to choose it's direction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/your-world-will-change-whether-or-not-you-choose-to-change-but-you/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [I hope I continue to evolve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-flair/i-hope-i-continue-to-evolve/) [Charlotte Flair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-flair/) > [“Stay focused on bringing people together and more on positive messaging so that you can be the change you wish to see in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germany-kent/stay-focused-on-bringing-people-together-and-more-on-positive/) [Germany Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germany-kent/) > [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/) > [“After the funeral, my life changed. I felt as if time were suddenly precious, water going down an open drain, and I could not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/after-the-funeral-my-life-changed-i-felt-as-if-time-were-suddenly/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [You practice mindfulness, on the one hand, to be calm and peaceful. On the other hand, as you practice mindfulness and live a life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-practice-mindfulness-on-the-one-hand-to-be-calm-and-peaceful-on/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Irish research will contribute to global progress and have the potential to help all countries realise the potential of their land sectors in addressing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enda-kenny/irish-research-will-contribute-to-global-progress-and-have-the/) [Enda Kenny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enda-kenny/) > [No man can change himself into anything from sheer reason; he can only change into what he potentially is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/no-man-can-change-himself-into-anything-from-sheer-reason-he-can-only/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) [Browse all 33,920 Change quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A tree lives on its roots. 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