--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Wilderness is a necessity ... They will…" description: "\"Wilderness is a necessity ... They will see what I meant in time. There must be places for human beings to satisfy their souls. Food and drink is not a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9fa/john-muir-678_courses_wilderness-is-a-necessity-they-will-see_447362.png" --- # Wilderness is a necessity ... They will see what I meant… ![“Wilderness is a necessity ... They will see what I meant in time. There must be places for human beings to satisfy their souls. Food and drink is not all. There is the spiritual. In some it is only a germ, of course, but the germ will grow.” quote by John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9fa/john-muir-678_courses_wilderness-is-a-necessity-they-will-see_447362.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9fa/john-muir-678_courses_wilderness-is-a-necessity-they-will-see_447362.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9fa/john-muir-678_courses_wilderness-is-a-necessity-they-will-see_447362.png) > “Wilderness is a necessity ... They will see what I meant in time. There must be places for human beings to satisfy their souls. Food and drink is not all. There is the spiritual. In some it is only a germ, of course, but the germ will grow.” [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Humans need wild places for spiritual nourishment beyond material needs; nature seeds growth of the soul. **In simple terms:** Nature is essential for spiritual health. Key Takeaway Seek wilderness for soul fulfillment. Themes nature spirituality human needs environment well‑being Mood inspirational reflective Type philosophical environmental When to use this quote - hiking - camping - urban green spaces Key Concepts ecology inner growth connection to earth Questions to Reflect On - What does wilderness mean to you? - How can you find nature’s spiritual value locally? A Different Perspective Access to wilderness is limited for many. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Courses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courses/) [Drink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drink/) [Food and drink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/food-and-drink/) [Food for the soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/food-for-the-soul/) [Germs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/germs/) [Grows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grows/) [Human beings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-beings/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Necessity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/necessity/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul/) [Spiritual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spiritual/) [Spiritual Germ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spiritual-germ-3911241/) [Spirituality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirituality/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Wilderness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wilderness/) [Wilderness Necessity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wilderness-necessity-3212494/) ## Related quotes > [Wilderness is a necessity... there must be places for human beings to satisfy their souls...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/wilderness-is-a-necessity-there-must-be-places-for-human-beings-to/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out going to the mountains is going home; that wilderness is a necessity...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/thousands-of-tired-nerve-shaken-over-civilized-people-are-beginning-2/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [“The all-sustaining power of knowledge is captured in the simile of knowledge being food for the soul. Various versions of it are met with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-rosenthal/the-all-sustaining-power-of-knowledge-is-captured-in-the-simile-of/) [Franz Rosenthal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-rosenthal/) > [“Reading. Food for the soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pook/reading-food-for-the-soul/) [Pook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pook/) > [I think 'Soul Food' had the biggest impact on me because that's where I was really able to shine as an actress and because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-ari-parker/i-think-soul-food-had-the-biggest-impact-on-me-because-that-s-where-i/) [Nicole Ari Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-ari-parker/) > [It's some chopped liver. That's Jewish soul food.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/redd-foxx/it-s-some-chopped-liver-that-s-jewish-soul-food/) [Redd Foxx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/redd-foxx/) > [I know I know this life is given for a reason god felt you would be strong enough to live it I know this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/racheal-smith/i-know-i-know-this-life-is-given-for-a-reason-god-felt-you-would-be/) [Racheal Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/racheal-smith/) > [I work out and go to the gym, but I still enjoy my soul food and snacks. But I'm a pretty petite young woman,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naturi-naughton/i-work-out-and-go-to-the-gym-but-i-still-enjoy-my-soul-food-and/) [Naturi Naughton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naturi-naughton/) > [A recipe has no soul. You, as the cook, must bring soul to the recipe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-keller/a-recipe-has-no-soul-you-as-the-cook-must-bring-soul-to-the-recipe/) [Thomas Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-keller/) > [You see a lot of Baptist churches in Harlem, you see a lot of the same kind of cuisine, the soul food - there's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-colter/you-see-a-lot-of-baptist-churches-in-harlem-you-see-a-lot-of-the-same/) [Mike Colter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-colter/) > [“Written on the wall behind them was: 'Blues for the body, food for the soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-niven/written-on-the-wall-behind-them-was-blues-for-the-body-food-for-the/) [Jennifer Niven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-niven/) > [Bread and books: food for the body and food for the soul - what could be more worthy of our respect, and even love?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/bread-and-books-food-for-the-body-and-food-for-the-soul-what-could-be/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [To me, martial arts is food for the soul and you have to respect that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/renato-moicano/to-me-martial-arts-is-food-for-the-soul-and-you-have-to-respect-that/) [Renato Moicano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/renato-moicano/) > [My parents owned a soul food diner. It inspired me to go to culinary school.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flavor-flav/my-parents-owned-a-soul-food-diner-it-inspired-me-to-go-to-culinary/) [Flavor Flav](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flavor-flav/) > [Happiness is food for the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaijuanda/happiness-is-food-for-the-soul/) [Kaijuanda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaijuanda/) ## More by John Muir > [I will follow my instincts, be myself for good or ill, and see what will be the upshot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/i-will-follow-my-instincts-be-myself-for-good-or-ill-and-see-what/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [During my first years in the Sierra, I was ever calling on everybody within reach to admire them, but I found no one half…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/during-my-first-years-in-the-sierra-i-was-ever-calling-on-everybody/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [While cares will drop off like autumn leaves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/while-cares-will-drop-off-like-autumn-leaves/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [...full of God's thoughts, a place of peace and safety amid the most exalted grandeur and enthusiastic action, a new song, a place of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/full-of-god-s-thoughts-a-place-of-peace-and-safety-amid-the-most/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [“Here are the roots of all the life of the valleys, and here more simply than elsewhere is the eternal flux of nature manifested.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/here-are-the-roots-of-all-the-life-of-the-valleys-and-here-more/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [Spring work is going on with joyful enthusiasm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/spring-work-is-going-on-with-joyful-enthusiasm/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [Our lives are rounded with a sleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/our-lives-are-rounded-with-a-sleep/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [Another glorious day, the air as delicious to the lungs as nectar to the tongue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/another-glorious-day-the-air-as-delicious-to-the-lungs-as-nectar-to/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [Long, blue, spiky-edged shadows crept out across the snow-fields, while a rosy glow, at first scarce discernible, gradually deepened and suffused every mountain-top, flushing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/long-blue-spiky-edged-shadows-crept-out-across-the-snow-fields-while/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [“This grand show is eternal. It is always sunrise somewhere; the dew is never all dried at once; a shower is forever falling; vapor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/this-grand-show-is-eternal-it-is-always-sunrise-somewhere-the-dew-is/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/when-one-tugs-at-a-single-thing-in-nature-he-finds-it-attached-to-the/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [In studying the fate of our forest king, we have thus far considered the action of purely natural causes only; but, unfortunately, man is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/in-studying-the-fate-of-our-forest-king-we-have-thus-far-considered/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [The forests of America, however slighted by man, must have been a great delight to God; for they were the best he ever planted.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/the-forests-of-america-however-slighted-by-man-must-have-been-a-great/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [Man seems to be the only animal whose food soils him, making necessary much washing and shield-like bibs and napkins. Moles living in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/man-seems-to-be-the-only-animal-whose-food-soils-him-making-necessary/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [As long as I live, I'll hear waterfalls and birds and winds sing. I'll interpret the rocks, learn the language of flood, storm, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/as-long-as-i-live-i-ll-hear-waterfalls-and-birds-and-winds-sing-i-ll/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) [Explore all 409 John Muir quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) ## More Courses quotes > [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 critical day is not the very day of our death; but the whole course of our life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-donne/our-critical-day-is-not-the-very-day-of-our-death-but-the-whole/) [John Donne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-donne/) > [ Bernie \[Ecclestone\] is the commercial rights holder so the more outgoing the champion is, the better. Of course. I also do think about our… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-ecclestone/bernie-ecclestone-is-the-commercial-rights-holder-so-the-more/) [Bernie Ecclestone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-ecclestone/) > [The prediction of nuclear winter is drawn not, of course, from any direct experience with the consequences of global nuclear war, but rather from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/the-prediction-of-nuclear-winter-is-drawn-not-of-course-from-any/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [We are always saying: Let the Law take its Course but what we really mean is: Let the Law take OUR Course.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/we-are-always-saying-let-the-law-take-its-course-but-what-we-really/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [Men generally decide upon a middle course, which is most hazardous, for they know neither how to be entirely good nor entirely bad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/men-generally-decide-upon-a-middle-course-which-is-most-hazardous-for/) [Niccolo Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/) > [I earn my living by teaching film, mostly filmmaking but also teaching courses on current cinema. I'm interested in movies. I hope that's not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-andersen/i-earn-my-living-by-teaching-film-mostly-filmmaking-but-also-teaching/) [Thom Andersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-andersen/) > [The wisdom of our actions in the first three years of peace will determine the course of world history for half a century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-a-wallace/the-wisdom-of-our-actions-in-the-first-three-years-of-peace-will/) [Henry A. Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-a-wallace/) > [To divide one's life by years is of course to tumble into a trap set by our own arithmetic. The calendar consents to carry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifton-fadiman/to-divide-one-s-life-by-years-is-of-course-to-tumble-into-a-trap-set/) [Clifton Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifton-fadiman/) > [You can’t bake a cake without getting the kitchen messy. Halfway through surgery it looks like there’s been a murder in the operating room.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/price-pritchett/you-can-t-bake-a-cake-without-getting-the-kitchen-messy-halfway/) [Price Pritchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/price-pritchett/) > [ Leave a cavity behind the \[wall\] facings, and on the inside build walls two feet thick, made of red dimension stone or burnt brick… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-vitruvius-pollio/leave-a-cavity-behind-the-wall-facings-and-on-the-inside-build-walls/) [Marcus Vitruvius Pollio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-vitruvius-pollio/) > [Of course it does on opening night, but I've never had that devastating stage fright that some people get, but apparently, you can develop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-collins/of-course-it-does-on-opening-night-but-i-ve-never-had-that/) [Joan Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-collins/) > [I studied philosophy and ended on sociology. For some reason, all the advanced courses in philosophy were offered 4:30 to 6:30, so I could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-jackson/i-studied-philosophy-and-ended-on-sociology-for-some-reason-all-the/) [Lawrence Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-jackson/) > [There is no one who can change My course or affect My conduct to the slightest extent. I am the Master over all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sathya-sai-baba/there-is-no-one-who-can-change-my-course-or-affect-my-conduct-to-the/) [Sathya Sai Baba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sathya-sai-baba/) > [In the course of our eternal existence, we spend infinitely more time in the spirit world on the other side than we spend in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-browne/in-the-course-of-our-eternal-existence-we-spend-infinitely-more-time/) [Sylvia Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-browne/) [Browse all 6,995 Courses quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courses/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Wilderness is a necessity ... They will see what I meant in time. There must be places for human beings to satisfy their souls. Food and drink is not all. There is the spiritual. In some it is only a germ, of course, but the germ will grow.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Muir" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/wilderness-is-a-necessity-they-will-see-what-i-meant-in-time-there/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Courses" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/wilderness-is-a-necessity-they-will-see-what-i-meant-in-time-there/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9fa/john-muir-678_courses_wilderness-is-a-necessity-they-will-see_447362.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9fa/john-muir-678_courses_wilderness-is-a-necessity-they-will-see_447362.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9fa/john-muir-678_courses_wilderness-is-a-necessity-they-will-see_447362.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Wilderness is a necessity ... They will see what I meant in time. There must be places for human beings to…” — John Muir", "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": "John Muir", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Wilderness is a necessity ... They...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/wilderness-is-a-necessity-they-will-see-what-i-meant-in-time-there/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/wilderness-is-a-necessity-they-will-see-what-i-meant-in-time-there/#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 } } ] } ```