--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have had a lifelong association with…" description: "\"“I have had a lifelong association with these things. (Odd that the word 'trees' does not apply.) I can accept them and their power and their age becau..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/447/john-steinbeck-71_long-ago_i-have-had-a-lifelong-association-with-t_2109183.jpg" --- # I have had a lifelong association with these things. (Odd… ![“I have had a lifelong association with these things. (Odd that the word 'trees' does not apply.) I can accept them and their power and their age because I was early exposed to them. ON the other hand, people lacking such experience begin to have a feeling of uneasiness here, of danger, of being…” quote by John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/447/john-steinbeck-71_long-ago_i-have-had-a-lifelong-association-with-t_2109183.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/447/john-steinbeck-71_long-ago_i-have-had-a-lifelong-association-with-t_2109183.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/447/john-steinbeck-71_long-ago_i-have-had-a-lifelong-association-with-t_2109183.jpg) > ““I have had a lifelong association with these things. (Odd that the word 'trees' does not apply.) I can accept them and their power and their age because I was early exposed to them. ON the other hand, people lacking such experience begin to have a feeling of uneasiness here, of danger, of being shut in, enclosed and overwhelmed. It is not only the size of these redwoods but their strangeness that frightens them. And why not? For these are the last remaining members of a race that flourished over four continents as far back in geologic time as the upper Jurassic period. Fossils of these ancients have been found dating from the Cretaceous era while in the Eocene and Miocene they were spread over England and Europe and America. And then the glaciers moved down and wiped the Titans out beyond recovery. And only these few are left--a stunning memory of what the world was like once long ago. Can it be that we do not love to be reminded that we are very young and callow in a world that was old when we came into it? And could there be a strong resistance to the certainty that a living world will continue its stately way when we no longer inhabit it?”” [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Redwoods embody ancient endurance, reminding us of humanity’s fleeting existence and the awe‑inspiring power of nature’s deep time. **In simple terms:** Old trees highlight our short lives and nature’s grandeur. Key Takeaway Respect and protect ancient ecosystems. Themes nature history humility Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical environmental When to use this quote - conservation policy - education programs - personal reflection Key Concepts deep time environmental ethics Questions to Reflect On - What can ancient trees teach us about patience? - How can we integrate reverence for nature into daily life? A Different Perspective Modern life can distance us from natural awe, reducing stewardship. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Long ago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-ago/) [Redwoods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/redwoods/) [Trees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trees/) ## Related quotes > [Nature got it right with the cranes. They have been around since the Eocene, which ended 34 million years ago.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-shoumatoff/nature-got-it-right-with-the-cranes-they-have-been-around-since-the/) [Alex Shoumatoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-shoumatoff/) > [“A far cicada rings high and clear over the river’s heavy wash. Morning glory, a lone dandelion, cassia, orchids. So far from the nearest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-matthiessen/a-far-cicada-rings-high-and-clear-over-the-river-s-heavy-wash-morning/) [Peter Matthiessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-matthiessen/) > [“The redwoods, once seen, leave a mark or create a vision that stays with you always. No one has ever successfully painted or photographed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/the-redwoods-once-seen-leave-a-mark-or-create-a-vision-that-stays-2/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“But from the start I had withheld from him any information about the giant redwoods. It seemed to me that a Long Island poodle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/but-from-the-start-i-had-withheld-from-him-any-information-about-the/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [The redwoods, once seen, leave a mark or create a vision that stays with you always. No one has ever successfully painted or photographed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/the-redwoods-once-seen-leave-a-mark-or-create-a-vision-that-stays/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [No one has ever successfully painted or photographed a redwood tree. The feeling they produce is not transferable. From them comes silence and awe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/no-one-has-ever-successfully-painted-or-photographed-a-redwood-tree/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [That was it! The whole Redwood City philosophy was based on a willingness to try harder than anyone else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/that-was-it-the-whole-redwood-city-philosophy-was-based-on-a/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) > [To sustain an environment suitable for man, we must fight on a thousand battlegrounds. Despite all of our wealth and knowledge, we cannot create…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/to-sustain-an-environment-suitable-for-man-we-must-fight-on-a/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [My father had been opposed to my flying from the first and had never flown himself. However, he had agreed to go up with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lindbergh/my-father-had-been-opposed-to-my-flying-from-the-first-and-had-never/) [Charles Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lindbergh/) > [As I went walking I saw a sign there And on the sign it said "No Trespassing." But on the other side it didn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-guthrie/as-i-went-walking-i-saw-a-sign-there-and-on-the-sign-it-said-no/) [Woody Guthrie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-guthrie/) > [Gigantic second and third growth trees are found in the redwoods, forming magnificent temple-like circles around charred ruins more than a thousand years old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/gigantic-second-and-third-growth-trees-are-found-in-the-redwoods/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [What a dull universe it would be if everything in it conformed to our expectations, if it held nothing to surprise or baffle us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/what-a-dull-universe-it-would-be-if-everything-in-it-conformed-to-our/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [Civil disobedience can help to focus attention on a particular injustice. It was used historically to highlight wrongs in society - turning ancient redwood…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-brune/civil-disobedience-can-help-to-focus-attention-on-a-particular/) [Michael Brune](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-brune/) > [There can be nothing in the world more beautiful than the Yosemite, the groves of the giant sequoias and redwoods, the Canyon of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/there-can-be-nothing-in-the-world-more-beautiful-than-the-yosemite/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [If you go to a tree with an ax and take five whacks at the tree every day, it doesn't matter if it's an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-canfield/if-you-go-to-a-tree-with-an-ax-and-take-five-whacks-at-the-tree-every/) [Jack Canfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-canfield/) ## More by John Steinbeck > [ Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit. My three \[great teachers\] did not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/teaching-might-even-be-the-greatest-of-the-arts-since-the-medium-is/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [Prayer never brought in no side-meat. Takes a shoat to bring in pork.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/prayer-never-brought-in-no-side-meat-takes-a-shoat-to-bring-in-pork/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“And now submarines are armed with mass murder, our silly, only way of deterring mass murder.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/and-now-submarines-are-armed-with-mass-murder-our-silly-only-way-of/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“I’d think there are degrees of greatness,” Adam said. “I don’t think so,” said Samuel. “That would be like saying there is a little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/i-d-think-there-are-degrees-of-greatness-adam-said-i-don-t-think-so/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“He was forever inventing a new way of doing an old thing and doing it better and quicker, but he never in his whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/he-was-forever-inventing-a-new-way-of-doing-an-old-thing-and-doing-it/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“You come back a changed man. Samuel, you don’t change him. He changes you. I can see the look of him in your face.”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/you-come-back-a-changed-man-samuel-you-don-t-change-him-he-changes/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [I find out of long experience that I admire all nations and hate all governments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/i-find-out-of-long-experience-that-i-admire-all-nations-and-hate-all/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [At about 10 o'clock in the morning the sun threw a bright dust-laden bar through one of the side windows and in and out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/at-about-10-o-clock-in-the-morning-the-sun-threw-a-bright-dust-laden/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [I have noticed that there is no dissatisfaction like that of the rich. Feed a man, clothe him, put him in a good house,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/i-have-noticed-that-there-is-no-dissatisfaction-like-that-of-the-rich/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“Who in his mind has not probe the dark water?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/who-in-his-mind-has-not-probe-the-dark-water/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [Sometimes, a lie is told in kindness. I don't believe it ever works kindly. The quick pain of truth can pass away, but the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/sometimes-a-lie-is-told-in-kindness-i-don-t-believe-it-ever-works/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [People like you to be something, preferably what they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/people-like-you-to-be-something-preferably-what-they-are/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“Suddenly he knew joy and sorrow felted into one fabric. Courage and fear were one thing too. He found that he had started to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/suddenly-he-knew-joy-and-sorrow-felted-into-one-fabric-courage-and/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [I am writing this from what we Americans call Yurrp. In Yurrp writers are taken as seriously as Lana Turner's legs are in America…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/i-am-writing-this-from-what-we-americans-call-yurrp-in-yurrp-writers/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [I write because I like to write. I find joy in the texture and tone and rhythm of words. It is a satisfaction like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/i-write-because-i-like-to-write-i-find-joy-in-the-texture-and-tone/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) [Explore all 1,589 John Steinbeck quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) ## More Fossils quotes > [One must believe that every living thing whatsoever must change insensibly in its organization and in its form... One must therefore never expect to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baptiste-lamarck/one-must-believe-that-every-living-thing-whatsoever-must-change/) [Jean-Baptiste Lamarck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baptiste-lamarck/) > [So many people are on the front lines of this fossil fuel frenzy. It is infused with a sense of urgency.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avi-lewis/so-many-people-are-on-the-front-lines-of-this-fossil-fuel-frenzy-it/) [Avi Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avi-lewis/) > [I try not to be either optimistic or pessimistic. I try not to think about outcomes on that scale. My job, it seems to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/i-try-not-to-be-either-optimistic-or-pessimistic-i-try-not-to-think/) [Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/) > [Charles Darwin viewed the fossil record more as an embarrassment than as an aid to his theory ...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/charles-darwin-viewed-the-fossil-record-more-as-an-embarrassment-than/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [No matter what else happens, this is the century in which we must learn to live without fossil fuel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-goodstein/no-matter-what-else-happens-this-is-the-century-in-which-we-must/) [David Goodstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-goodstein/) > [Growing corn, which from a biological perspective had always been a process of capturing sunlight to turn into food, has in no small measure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/growing-corn-which-from-a-biological-perspective-had-always-been-a/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [If the world goes crazy for a lovely fossil, that's fine with me. But if that fossil releases some kind of mysterious brain ray…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-zimmer/if-the-world-goes-crazy-for-a-lovely-fossil-that-s-fine-with-me-but/) [Carl Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-zimmer/) > [Civilization as we know it will come to an end sometime in this century unless we can find a way to live without fossil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-goodstein/civilization-as-we-know-it-will-come-to-an-end-sometime-in-this/) [David Goodstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-goodstein/) > [From the almost total absence of fossil evidence relative to the origin of the phyla, it follows that any explanation of the mechanism in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-paul-grasse/from-the-almost-total-absence-of-fossil-evidence-relative-to-the/) [Pierre-Paul Grasse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-paul-grasse/) > [“Have you ever plunged into the immensity of space and time by reading the geological treatises of Cuvier? Borne away on the wings of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/have-you-ever-plunged-into-the-immensity-of-space-and-time-by-reading/) [Honoré de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [You've got to do everything, everything's got to be pointing in the same direction and you've got to really turn this whole economic engine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kolbert/you-ve-got-to-do-everything-everything-s-got-to-be-pointing-in-the/) [Elizabeth Kolbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kolbert/) > [“Rocks are not static and inert. They are constantly changing, shifting, and rearranging their form and location. They can be melted, deposited, eroded and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-r-coenraads/rocks-are-not-static-and-inert-they-are-constantly-changing-shifting/) Robert R. Coenraads > [My guess is that liberating the fossil fuel industry to frack anywhere they want will drive down the rate at which we're converting to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/my-guess-is-that-liberating-the-fossil-fuel-industry-to-frack/) [Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/) > [I find it interesting that many of the people who want to restrict fossil fuels live in well-developed countries where abundant and affordable energy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-r-raymond/i-find-it-interesting-that-many-of-the-people-who-want-to-restrict/) [Lee R. Raymond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-r-raymond/) > [All the different classes of beings which taken together make up the universe are, in the ideas of God who knows distinctly their essential…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gottfried-leibniz/all-the-different-classes-of-beings-which-taken-together-make-up-the/) [Gottfried Leibniz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gottfried-leibniz/) Browse all 497 Fossils quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I have had a lifelong association with these things. (Odd that the word 'trees' does not apply.) I can accept them and their power and their age because I was early exposed to them. ON the other hand, people lacking such experience begin to have a feeling of uneasiness here, of danger, of being shut in, enclosed and overwhelmed. It is not only the size of these redwoods but their strangeness that frightens them. And why not? For these are the last remaining members of a race that flourished over four continents as far back in geologic time as the upper Jurassic period. Fossils of these ancients have been found dating from the Cretaceous era while in the Eocene and Miocene they were spread over England and Europe and America. And then the glaciers moved down and wiped the Titans out beyond recovery. And only these few are left--a stunning memory of what the world was like once long ago. Can it be that we do not love to be reminded that we are very young and callow in a world that was old when we came into it? 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