--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: By cutting ourselves off from the rest of…" description: "\"By cutting ourselves off from the rest of creation, we are left bereft of awe and wonder and therefore of reverence and gratitude. We violate our very ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/713/matthew-fox-4448_awe_by-cutting-ourselves-off-from-the-rest-o_992482.jpg" --- # By cutting ourselves off from the rest of creation, we are… ![“By cutting ourselves off from the rest of creation, we are left bereft of awe and wonder and therefore of reverence and gratitude. We violate our very beings, and we have nothing but trivia to teach our young.” quote by Matthew Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/713/matthew-fox-4448_awe_by-cutting-ourselves-off-from-the-rest-o_992482.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/713/matthew-fox-4448_awe_by-cutting-ourselves-off-from-the-rest-o_992482.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/713/matthew-fox-4448_awe_by-cutting-ourselves-off-from-the-rest-o_992482.jpg) > “By cutting ourselves off from the rest of creation, we are left bereft of awe and wonder and therefore of reverence and gratitude. We violate our very beings, and we have nothing but trivia to teach our young.” [Matthew Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-fox/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Disconnecting from nature erodes awe, reverence, and gratitude, leaving life shallow and trivial. **In simple terms:** Nature disconnect reduces wonder. Key Takeaway Re‑engage with nature regularly. Themes nature spirituality awe gratitude Mood contemplative inspired Type philosophical spiritual When to use this quote - outdoor activities - education - family rituals Key Concepts environmental connection mindfulness Questions to Reflect On - How can you find awe in daily life? - What practices restore reverence? A Different Perspective Modern life may limit nature access. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Awe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/awe/) [Awe and wonder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/awe-and-wonder/) [Bereft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bereft/) [Creation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creation/) [Environmental](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/environmental/) [Gratitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gratitude/) [Reverence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reverence/) [Trivia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trivia/) [Wonder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wonder/) ## Related quotes > [For no part of Creation is left void of him: he has filled all things everywhere...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/athanasius-of-alexandria/for-no-part-of-creation-is-left-void-of-him-he-has-filled-all-things/) [Athanasius of Alexandria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/athanasius-of-alexandria/) > [“In nature, improbabilities are the one stock in trade. The whole creation is one lunatic fringe. If creation had been left up to me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/in-nature-improbabilities-are-the-one-stock-in-trade-the-whole/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [The fictitious worlds created for kids are nearly bereft of female presence. It's sending a very clear message from the beginning that women and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geena-davis/the-fictitious-worlds-created-for-kids-are-nearly-bereft-of-female/) [Geena Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geena-davis/) > [How strange it is, Anna. Yesterday, I have filed in my mind as a good day, notwithstanding it was filled with mortal illness and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-brooks/how-strange-it-is-anna-yesterday-i-have-filed-in-my-mind-as-a-good/) [Geraldine Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-brooks/) > [O loving woman, man's fulfillment, sweet, Completing him not otherwise complete! How void and useless the sad remnant left Were he of her, his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-coles/o-loving-woman-man-s-fulfillment-sweet-completing-him-not-otherwise/) [Abraham Coles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-coles/) > [ \[...\] elite social engineers appear to be aiming at a "hetero-homo" world, i.e. where individuals are bisexual, promiscuous and bereft of family. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-makow/elite-social-engineers-appear-to-be-aiming-at-a-hetero-homo-world-i-e/) [Henry Makow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-makow/) > [Just for a handful of silver he left us, Just for a riband to stick in his coat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-browning/just-for-a-handful-of-silver-he-left-us-just-for-a-riband-to-stick-in/) [Robert Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-browning/) > [So many people seem to spend their lives trying to appear normal, predictable and consistent to themselves and those that surround them. They just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-j-carroll/so-many-people-seem-to-spend-their-lives-trying-to-appear-normal/) [Peter J. Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-j-carroll/) > [I have not spoken in three years: not since I left boot camp. It has been three years of a senseless war, and though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-abani/i-have-not-spoken-in-three-years-not-since-i-left-boot-camp-it-has/) [Chris Abani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-abani/) > [Politics bereft of religion is absolute dirt, ever to be shunned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/politics-bereft-of-religion-is-absolute-dirt-ever-to-be-shunned/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Madam, you have bereft me of all words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/madam-you-have-bereft-me-of-all-words/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A woman moved is like a fountain troubled, Muddy, ill-seeming, thick, bereft of beauty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-woman-moved-is-like-a-fountain-troubled-muddy-ill-seeming-thick/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“You'll be bereft without me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-lynn/you-ll-be-bereft-without-me/) [J. Lynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-lynn/) > [Men feel more bereft without a woman than women will feel bereft without a man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-prager/men-feel-more-bereft-without-a-woman-than-women-will-feel-bereft/) [Dennis Prager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-prager/) > [These eyes, tho' clear To outward view of blemish or of spot, Bereft of light, their seeing have forgot, Nor to their idle orbs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/these-eyes-tho-clear-to-outward-view-of-blemish-or-of-spot-bereft-of/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) ## More by Matthew Fox > [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/) > [We honor life when we work. The type of work is not important: the fact of work is. All work feeds the soul if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-fox/we-honor-life-when-we-work-the-type-of-work-is-not-important-the-fact/) [Matthew Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-fox/) > [Evil is the shadow of angel. Just as there are angels of light, support, guidance, healing and defense, so we have experiences of shadow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-fox/evil-is-the-shadow-of-angel-just-as-there-are-angels-of-light-support/) [Matthew Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-fox/) > [I'm not really a tropical paradise kind of person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-fox/i-m-not-really-a-tropical-paradise-kind-of-person/) [Matthew Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-fox/) > [We must work on our souls, enlarging and expanding them. We do so by experiencing all of life-the beauty and the joy as well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-fox/we-must-work-on-our-souls-enlarging-and-expanding-them-we-do-so-by/) [Matthew Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-fox/) > [I don't think that fundamentalism has anything to do with Jesus Christ. They call themselves Christians, but if that's Christian, count me out. Fundamentalism…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-fox/i-don-t-think-that-fundamentalism-has-anything-to-do-with-jesus/) [Matthew Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-fox/) > [“where does creativity come from? Creativity comes from the Universe itself. “There is music and poetry in the Universe itself — surely we hear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-fox/where-does-creativity-come-from-creativity-comes-from-the-universe/) [Matthew Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-fox/) > [I didn't learn to swim until I was 21 or something because I grew up in the mountains in Wyoming and all the water…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-fox/i-didn-t-learn-to-swim-until-i-was-21-or-something-because-i-grew-up/) [Matthew Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-fox/) > [I think you've got to take your time and make sure you're making choices that are smart for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-fox/i-think-you-ve-got-to-take-your-time-and-make-sure-you-re-making/) [Matthew Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-fox/) > [Animals teach us about the animals in ourselves. We need their spirits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-fox/animals-teach-us-about-the-animals-in-ourselves-we-need-their-spirits/) [Matthew Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-fox/) > [The universe is in the habit of making beauty. There are flowers and songs, snowflakes and smiles, acts of great courage, laughter between friends,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-fox/the-universe-is-in-the-habit-of-making-beauty-there-are-flowers-and/) [Matthew Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-fox/) > [“If you don't work on yourself, then much of your politics is merely projections. We have to walk our talk and do the inner…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-fox/if-you-don-t-work-on-yourself-then-much-of-your-politics-is-merely/) [Matthew Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-fox/) > [Any time I need to be really physical, and a role requires that, you're kind of viscerally activated by being that physical in it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-fox/any-time-i-need-to-be-really-physical-and-a-role-requires-that-you-re/) [Matthew Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-fox/) > [I directed an episode of 'Party of Five' toward the very end of that show. It was a great experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-fox/i-directed-an-episode-of-party-of-five-toward-the-very-end-of-that/) [Matthew Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-fox/) > [“Who is this woman who took on the Emporer Barbarosa, comparing him to an infant and a madman, and threatened that God’s sword would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-fox/who-is-this-woman-who-took-on-the-emporer-barbarosa-comparing-him-to/) [Matthew Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-fox/) [Explore all 111 Matthew Fox quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-fox/) ## More Awe quotes > [Because I've never had any higher education of any sort, I've never held in awe those who have had it or have a sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-corbyn/because-i-ve-never-had-any-higher-education-of-any-sort-i-ve-never/) [Jeremy Corbyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-corbyn/) > [Of course the Dharma-body of the Buddha was the hedge at the bottom of the garden. At the same time, and no less obviously,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/of-course-the-dharma-body-of-the-buddha-was-the-hedge-at-the-bottom/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [When I look at the human brain I'm still in awe of it. Every single time you lift off the bone and open the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-carson/when-i-look-at-the-human-brain-i-m-still-in-awe-of-it-every-single/) [Benjamin Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-carson/) > [“I know you deserve better than me. You think I don’t know that? But if there was any woman made for me … it’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-mcguire/i-know-you-deserve-better-than-me-you-think-i-don-t-know-that-but-if/) [Jamie McGuire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-mcguire/) > [There are certain scenes that would awe an atheist into belief without the help of any other argument.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-gray/there-are-certain-scenes-that-would-awe-an-atheist-into-belief/) [Thomas Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-gray/) > [As we contemplate with reverence and awe how our Savior embraces us, comforts us, and heals us, let us commit to become His hands,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dieter-f-uchtdorf/as-we-contemplate-with-reverence-and-awe-how-our-savior-embraces-us/) [Dieter F. Uchtdorf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dieter-f-uchtdorf/) > [My journey deep into coma, outside this lowly physical realm and into the loftiest dwelling place of the almighty Creator, revealed the indescribably immense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eben-alexander/my-journey-deep-into-coma-outside-this-lowly-physical-realm-and-into/) [Eben Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eben-alexander/) > [Awe combined with intimacy is the essence of Christian worship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/awe-combined-with-intimacy-is-the-essence-of-christian-worship/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Everything we perceive to be solid and static is made up of almost entirely empty space.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-p-kauffman/everything-we-perceive-to-be-solid-and-static-is-made-up-of-almost/) [Joseph P. Kauffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-p-kauffman/) > [“Oftentimes we call Life bitter names, but only when we ourselves are bitter and dark. And we deem her empty and unprofitable, but only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kahlil-gibran/oftentimes-we-call-life-bitter-names-but-only-when-we-ourselves-are/) [Kahlil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kahlil-gibran/) > [The laws of nature are the skeleton of the universe. They support it, give it shape, tie it together. Taken as a whole, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-trefil/the-laws-of-nature-are-the-skeleton-of-the-universe-they-support-it/) James Trefil > [When you look at yourself and feel dissatisfaction about any part of you, you will continue to attract feelings of dissatisfaction, because the law…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhonda-byrne/when-you-look-at-yourself-and-feel-dissatisfaction-about-any-part-of/) [Rhonda Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhonda-byrne/) > [“What can we make of the inexpressible joy of children? It is a kind of gratitude, I think—the gratitude of the ten-year-old who wakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/what-can-we-make-of-the-inexpressible-joy-of-children-it-is-a-kind-of/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [Sometimes not seeing things can be a blessing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-strindberg/sometimes-not-seeing-things-can-be-a-blessing/) [August Strindberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-strindberg/) > [I'm always in awe at how fast television is and how quickly you're called upon to be 100 percent invested in a character with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/latanya-richardson/i-m-always-in-awe-at-how-fast-television-is-and-how-quickly-you-re/) [LaTanya Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/latanya-richardson/) [Browse all 1,119 Awe quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/awe/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "By cutting ourselves off from the rest of creation, we are left bereft of awe and wonder and therefore of reverence and gratitude. 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