--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: This afternoon I sat at my window and…" description: "\"“This afternoon I sat at my window and alternately wrote at my new serial and watched a couple of dear, amusing, youngish maple-trees at the foot of th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/530/l-m-montgomery-567_animism_this-afternoon-i-sat-at-my-window-and-al_2245055.jpg" --- # This afternoon I sat at my window and alternately wrote at… ![“This afternoon I sat at my window and alternately wrote at my new serial and watched a couple of dear, amusing, youngish maple-trees at the foot of the garden. They whispered secrets to each other all the afternoon. They would bend together and talk earnestly for a few moments, then spring back…” quote by L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/530/l-m-montgomery-567_animism_this-afternoon-i-sat-at-my-window-and-al_2245055.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/530/l-m-montgomery-567_animism_this-afternoon-i-sat-at-my-window-and-al_2245055.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/530/l-m-montgomery-567_animism_this-afternoon-i-sat-at-my-window-and-al_2245055.jpg) > ““This afternoon I sat at my window and alternately wrote at my new serial and watched a couple of dear, amusing, youngish maple-trees at the foot of the garden. They whispered secrets to each other all the afternoon. They would bend together and talk earnestly for a few moments, then spring back and look at each other, throwing up their hands comically in horror and amazement over their mutual revelations. I wonder what new scandal is afoot in Treeland.”” [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator observes trees as lively characters, reflecting on nature's secret communications and the intrigue of the forest. **In simple terms:** Trees seem to talk and reveal hidden stories. Key Takeaway Notice the subtle narratives in everyday surroundings. Themes nature observation imagination Mood reflective curious Type literary observational When to use this quote - gardening - reading - writing - walking in parks Key Concepts personification storytelling Questions to Reflect On - What hidden stories might you overlook in daily life? - How does personifying nature affect your perception? A Different Perspective The metaphor may over‑romanticize natural processes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animism/) [Anthropomorphism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anthropomorphism/) [Trees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trees/) ## Related quotes > [Maple-trees are the cows of trees (spring-milked).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/maple-trees-are-the-cows-of-trees-spring-milked/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [I worry about anthropomorphism as a form of self-deception. (The Christian religion is an anthropomorphic account of the universe.)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-worry-about-anthropomorphism-as-a-form-of-self-deception-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“At least descriptive psychology is probably, taken as a whole, a form of anthropomorphism, a nibbling at our own limits.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/at-least-descriptive-psychology-is-probably-taken-as-a-whole-a-form/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [Talk of belief in these animals is not some kind of anthropomorphism. We simply cannot explain the kinds of problem solving and behavioral sophistication…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-kornblith/talk-of-belief-in-these-animals-is-not-some-kind-of-anthropomorphism/) [Hilary Kornblith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-kornblith/) > [“The problem is not that dolphins are dumber than we thought, but that our anthropomorphism inevitably makes it hard to understand an intelligence other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-zimmer/the-problem-is-not-that-dolphins-are-dumber-than-we-thought-but-that/) [Carl Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-zimmer/) > [“A fox passing through the wood on business of his own stopped several minutes and sniffed. 'Hobbits!' he thought. 'Well, what next? I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-r-tolkien/a-fox-passing-through-the-wood-on-business-of-his-own-stopped-several/) [J.R.R. Tolkien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-r-tolkien/) > [What then is truth? A movable host of metaphors, metonymies, and anthropomorphisms: in short, a sum of human relations which have been poetically and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/what-then-is-truth-a-movable-host-of-metaphors-metonymies-and/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“Homo economicus was surreptitiously taken as the emblem and analogue for all living beings. A mechanistic anthropomorphism has gained currency. Bacteria are imagined to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-illich/homo-economicus-was-surreptitiously-taken-as-the-emblem-and-analogue/) [Ivan Illich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-illich/) > [ “Then there's the pillar statue in the semi-subterranean temple at Tiahuanaco \[Bolivia\]. Like the Totem Pole of Göbekli Tepe, it is anthropomorphic. Like the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-hancock/then-there-s-the-pillar-statue-in-the-semi-subterranean-temple-at/) [Graham Hancock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-hancock/) > [“For any anthropomorphism we use to describe our dogs, we can ask two questions: One, is there a natural behavior this action might have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-horowitz/for-any-anthropomorphism-we-use-to-describe-our-dogs-we-can-ask-two/) [Alexandra Horowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-horowitz/) > [Loving dogs is a question of anthropomorphism. We become attached to dogs because of the feelings we project on them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-berge/loving-dogs-is-a-question-of-anthropomorphism-we-become-attached-to/) [Pierre Berge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-berge/) > [Anthropocentrism gave rise to boredom, and when anthropomorphism was replaced by technocentrism, boredom became even more profound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/anthropocentrism-gave-rise-to-boredom-and-when-anthropomorphism-was/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We know from the truths of evolution and ecology that we are all related and interdependent. Anthropomorphism (crediting animals with human emotions and traits)…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-fox/we-know-from-the-truths-of-evolution-and-ecology-that-we-are-all/) [Michael Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-fox/) > [“The river loved to tell everybody (everybody being the sky, the wind, the few trees that grew around there, birds, deer and even the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brautigan/the-river-loved-to-tell-everybody-everybody-being-the-sky-the-wind/) [Richard Brautigan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brautigan/) > [“There is an universal tendency amongst mankind to conceive all beings like themselves, and to transfer to every object those qualities, with which they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/there-is-an-universal-tendency-amongst-mankind-to-conceive-all-beings/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) ## More by L.M. Montgomery > [“The other day Nan said, 'Nothing can ever be quite the same for any of us again.' It made me feel rebellious. Why shouldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/the-other-day-nan-said-nothing-can-ever-be-quite-the-same-for-any-of/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [“It's a very bad habit to put off disagreeable things...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/it-s-a-very-bad-habit-to-put-off-disagreeable-things/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [“Who was it said, ‘We forget because we must’? He was right.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/who-was-it-said-we-forget-because-we-must-he-was-right/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [“I don't think it's any help that it's your habit. What would you think of a person who went about sticking pins and needles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/i-don-t-think-it-s-any-help-that-it-s-your-habit-what-would-you-think/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [“What a splendid day! Isn't it good just to be alive on a day like this? I pity the people who aren't born yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/what-a-splendid-day-isn-t-it-good-just-to-be-alive-on-a-day-like-this/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [“I told you the Bible was more to be depended on than newspapers!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/i-told-you-the-bible-was-more-to-be-depended-on-than-newspapers/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [“On a day like this there's no such word as fail in my bright lexicon.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/on-a-day-like-this-there-s-no-such-word-as-fail-in-my-bright-lexicon/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [“I took the brooch because I was too overcome with irresistible temptation. I was imagining I was Lady Cordelia Fitzgerald, and I just had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/i-took-the-brooch-because-i-was-too-overcome-with-irresistible/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [“…she made a poem on it at once, the lines singing themselves through her consciousness without effort. With one side of her nature she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/she-made-a-poem-on-it-at-once-the-lines-singing-themselves-through/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [“I think there are two kinds of TRUE THINGS-- true things that ARE, and true things that ARE NOT, but MIGHT be.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/i-think-there-are-two-kinds-of-true-things-true-things-that-are-and/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [“when the darkness is close to us it is a friend. But when we sorter push it away from us—divorce ourselves from it, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/when-the-darkness-is-close-to-us-it-is-a-friend-but-when-we-sorter/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [“Yesterday she had been all her own. Now she was this man's.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/yesterday-she-had-been-all-her-own-now-she-was-this-man-s/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [“I suppose that's how it looks in prose. But it's very different if you look at it through poetry…and I think it's nicer…' Anne…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/i-suppose-that-s-how-it-looks-in-prose-but-it-s-very-different-if-you/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [“Ilse and I hunted all over the old orchard today for a four-leaved clover and couldn't find one. Then I found one in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/ilse-and-i-hunted-all-over-the-old-orchard-today-for-a-four-leaved/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [“Nothing seems worthwhile. My very thoughts are old. I've thought them all before. What is the use of living after all, Anne?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/nothing-seems-worthwhile-my-very-thoughts-are-old-i-ve-thought-them/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) [Explore all 463 L.M. Montgomery quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) ## More Animism quotes > [“People forget that humans are animals too, that we're just as much a part of the wild places as the things that live in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-h-o-neil-2/people-forget-that-humans-are-animals-too-that-we-re-just-as-much-a/) Vincent H. O Neil > [“...our philosophy has preserved essential traits of animistic modes of thought such as the over-estimation of the magic of words and the belief that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/our-philosophy-has-preserved-essential-traits-of-animistic-modes-of/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [Increasing numbers of Pagans are identifying themselves as animists or naming their worldview as animism. Some Pagans use the term animism to refer to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-harvey/increasing-numbers-of-pagans-are-identifying-themselves-as-animists/) [Graham Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-harvey/) > [“The reality is, it takes daily cultivation of a spiritual path, preferably with spiritual kin in proximity, to sustain not the feeling of elation,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-kelley-harrell/the-reality-is-it-takes-daily-cultivation-of-a-spiritual-path/) [S. Kelley Harrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-kelley-harrell/) > [“But this is not to say that a highly specialized body of belief such as that associated with Faerie is not capable of subsidiary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-spence/but-this-is-not-to-say-that-a-highly-specialized-body-of-belief-such/) [Lewis Spence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-spence/) > [Animism is not a belief system, but a worldview: The world is a sacred place and we are part of it. The factuality of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-quinn/animism-is-not-a-belief-system-but-a-worldview-the-world-is-a-sacred/) [Daniel Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-quinn/) > [“In the end, bless the darkness, hold the light, because the two aren't divisible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-kelley-harrell/in-the-end-bless-the-darkness-hold-the-light-because-the-two-aren-t/) [S. Kelley Harrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-kelley-harrell/) > [“All Things are in constant relationship, and shamanic journey is the choice to put one’s self in direct contact and concert with that relationship.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-kelley-harrell/all-things-are-in-constant-relationship-and-shamanic-journey-is-the/) [S. Kelley Harrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-kelley-harrell/) > [“It is a well known fact that even among highly cultured peoples the belief in animism prevails generally. Even the scholar may kick the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-estil-cunningham/it-is-a-well-known-fact-that-even-among-highly-cultured-peoples-the/) [Holly Estil Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-estil-cunningham/) > [“We are the most open-feeling that we can be, when we can no longer be as we are.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-kelley-harrell/we-are-the-most-open-feeling-that-we-can-be-when-we-can-no-longer-be/) [S. Kelley Harrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-kelley-harrell/) > [“The demons of animism were usually hostile to man, but it seems as though man had more confidence in himself in those days than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/the-demons-of-animism-were-usually-hostile-to-man-but-it-seems-as/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [“Zeena Schreck is a Berlin-based interdisciplinary artist, author, musician/composer, tantric teacher, mystic, animal rights activist, and counter-culture icon known by her mononymous artist name,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zeena-schreck/zeena-schreck-is-a-berlin-based-interdisciplinary-artist-author/) [Zeena Schreck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zeena-schreck/) > [“There are Tantrics who deliberately seek to do more active forms of renunciation, so transgression of social norms and breaking of taboo, and breaking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zeena-schreck/there-are-tantrics-who-deliberately-seek-to-do-more-active-forms-of/) [Zeena Schreck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zeena-schreck/) > [“Children arrive animists. They learn about life, themselves, and empathy by imagining the liveliness of everything they come into contact with.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-kelley-harrell/children-arrive-animists-they-learn-about-life-themselves-and-empathy/) [S. Kelley Harrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-kelley-harrell/) > [“All the major world religions (always excluding animism, of course), are founded on these notions: that man and man alone was the desired object…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-quinn/all-the-major-world-religions-always-excluding-animism-of-course-are/) [Daniel Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-quinn/) [Browse all 41 Animism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“This afternoon I sat at my window and alternately wrote at my new serial and watched a couple of dear, amusing, youngish maple-trees at the foot of the garden. 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