--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: An ancient gnarled tree: Too fibrous for…" description: "\"An ancient gnarled tree: Too fibrous for a logger's saw, Too twisted to fit a carpenter's square, Outlasts the whole forest.\" — Ming-Dao Deng" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6a/ming-dao-deng-15068_ancient_an-ancient-gnarled-tree-too-fibrous-for_177077.png" --- # An ancient gnarled tree: Too fibrous for a logger's saw… ![“An ancient gnarled tree: Too fibrous for a logger's saw, Too twisted to fit a carpenter's square, Outlasts the whole forest.” quote by Ming-Dao Deng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6a/ming-dao-deng-15068_ancient_an-ancient-gnarled-tree-too-fibrous-for_177077.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6a/ming-dao-deng-15068_ancient_an-ancient-gnarled-tree-too-fibrous-for_177077.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6a/ming-dao-deng-15068_ancient_an-ancient-gnarled-tree-too-fibrous-for_177077.png) > “An ancient gnarled tree: Too fibrous for a logger's saw, Too twisted to fit a carpenter's square, Outlasts the whole forest.” [Ming-Dao Deng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ming-dao-deng/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Resilience and uniqueness allow something to endure where standard tools fail. **In simple terms:** Being different can make you survive tough conditions. Key Takeaway Embrace your distinct strengths. Themes resilience uniqueness adaptation Mood reflective inspirational Type metaphorical inspirational When to use this quote - business competition - personal challenges - environmental adaptation - creative problem solving Key Concepts survival nonconformity Questions to Reflect On - How can you leverage your quirks as strengths? - When is conformity more advantageous? A Different Perspective May not apply when flexibility is required over rigidity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ancient](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancient/) [Carpenter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/carpenter/) [Flower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flower/) [Forests](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forests/) [Taoism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taoism/) [Tree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tree/) [Trees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trees/) ## Related quotes > [Every crag and gnarled tree and lonely valley has its own strange and graceful legend attached to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-hyde/every-crag-and-gnarled-tree-and-lonely-valley-has-its-own-strange-and/) [Douglas Hyde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-hyde/) > [Every craggy and gnarled tree has its own strange and graceful legend attached to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-hyde/every-craggy-and-gnarled-tree-has-its-own-strange-and-graceful-legend/) [Douglas Hyde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-hyde/) > [Voices in the forest tell of dark and twisted enchantments - as dark and twisted as the roots and grasping branches of the trees…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-froud/voices-in-the-forest-tell-of-dark-and-twisted-enchantments-as-dark/) [Brian Froud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-froud/) > [I'd rather spend half an hour in the company of a top carpenter, than three hours in the company of an average brain surgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/i-d-rather-spend-half-an-hour-in-the-company-of-a-top-carpenter-than/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [“The Carpenter Shop”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-carpenter-shop/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [Read, read, read. Read everything -- trash, classics, good and bad, and see how they do it. Just like a carpenter who works as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/read-read-read-read-everything-trash-classics-good-and-bad-and-see/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [It's the ones that deal with the inner fear, the unknown realms and the mysticisms that are scary. You had that in the Carpenter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adewale-akinnuoye-agbaje/it-s-the-ones-that-deal-with-the-inner-fear-the-unknown-realms-and/) [Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adewale-akinnuoye-agbaje/) > [This, more than anything else, is what I have never understood about your people. You can roll dice, and understand that the whole game…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/this-more-than-anything-else-is-what-i-have-never-understood-about/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [As I've gotten old I've really listened to a wide spectrum of music, whether it's The Carpenters, Stevie Wonder, Justin Timberlake, Jay-Z or Lauryn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brooklyn-sudano/as-i-ve-gotten-old-i-ve-really-listened-to-a-wide-spectrum-of-music/) [Brooklyn Sudano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brooklyn-sudano/) > [There's a devil inside me which cries, "You're not the son of the Carpenter, you're the son of King David! You are not a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikos-kazantzakis/there-s-a-devil-inside-me-which-cries-you-re-not-the-son-of-the/) [Nikos Kazantzakis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikos-kazantzakis/) > [He came, not as a flash of light or as an unapproachable conqueror, but as one whose first cries were heard by a peasant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/he-came-not-as-a-flash-of-light-or-as-an-unapproachable-conqueror-but/) [Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/) > [As regards the quietude of the sage, he is not quiet because quietness is said to be good. He is quiet because the multitude…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhuangzi/as-regards-the-quietude-of-the-sage-he-is-not-quiet-because-quietness/) [Zhuangzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhuangzi/) > [Raise high the roof beam, carpenters. Like Ares comes the bridegroom, taller far than a tall man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sappho/raise-high-the-roof-beam-carpenters-like-ares-comes-the-bridegroom/) [Sappho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sappho/) > [Even if I wasn't in music, even if my father was a carpenter, some guy in Jamaica would go 'You're just like Bob. You're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ziggy-marley/even-if-i-wasn-t-in-music-even-if-my-father-was-a-carpenter-some-guy/) [Ziggy Marley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ziggy-marley/) > [An axe at home saves hiring a carpenter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/an-axe-at-home-saves-hiring-a-carpenter/) [Friedrich Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schiller/) ## More by Ming-Dao Deng > [Build your life brick upon brick, Live a life of truth, And you will look back on a life of truth. Live a life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ming-dao-deng/build-your-life-brick-upon-brick-live-a-life-of-truth-and-you-will/) [Ming-Dao Deng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ming-dao-deng/) > [Rain scatters plum petals; Weeping stains the earth. One can only take shelter And wait for clearing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ming-dao-deng/rain-scatters-plum-petals-weeping-stains-the-earth-one-can-only-take/) [Ming-Dao Deng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ming-dao-deng/) > [A funeral is for those left behind. Sometimes, one wonders if the weeping is more out of fear for ourselves than it is sympathy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ming-dao-deng/a-funeral-is-for-those-left-behind-sometimes-one-wonders-if-the/) [Ming-Dao Deng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ming-dao-deng/) > [It is said that if one chooses to pray to a rock with enough devotion, even that rock will come alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ming-dao-deng/it-is-said-that-if-one-chooses-to-pray-to-a-rock-with-enough-devotion/) [Ming-Dao Deng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ming-dao-deng/) > [if i dont want to be known, i cannot be known.the best actor can divide role from self.the best liar can divide truth from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ming-dao-deng/if-i-dont-want-to-be-known-i-cannot-be-known-the-best-actor-can/) [Ming-Dao Deng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ming-dao-deng/) > [Give back what you have learned. Share your experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ming-dao-deng/give-back-what-you-have-learned-share-your-experience/) [Ming-Dao Deng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ming-dao-deng/) > [Use a mirror in difficult times. You will see both cause and resolution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ming-dao-deng/use-a-mirror-in-difficult-times-you-will-see-both-cause-and-resolution/) [Ming-Dao Deng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ming-dao-deng/) > [“Every day passes whether you participate or not.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ming-dao-deng/every-day-passes-whether-you-participate-or-not/) [Ming-Dao Deng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ming-dao-deng/) > [Self-discipline leads to higher spiritual states only if practiced with under- standing. The clearer the goal, the greater the result.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ming-dao-deng/self-discipline-leads-to-higher-spiritual-states-only-if-practiced/) [Ming-Dao Deng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ming-dao-deng/) > [Trees in winter lose their leaves. Some trees may even fall during storms, but most stand patiently and bear their fortune.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ming-dao-deng/trees-in-winter-lose-their-leaves-some-trees-may-even-fall-during/) [Ming-Dao Deng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ming-dao-deng/) > [“To be a Taoist, one need not engage in fanatical denial of any part of life, nor does one need to leave family and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ming-dao-deng/to-be-a-taoist-one-need-not-engage-in-fanatical-denial-of-any-part-of/) [Ming-Dao Deng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ming-dao-deng/) > [Cooperation with others. Perception, experience, tenacity. Know when to lead and when to follow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ming-dao-deng/cooperation-with-others-perception-experience-tenacity-know-when-to/) [Ming-Dao Deng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ming-dao-deng/) > [“Emperors uphold censorship, But extreme repression leads to extreme reaction. Individualists believe in freedom, But extreme expression leads to extreme reaction.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ming-dao-deng/emperors-uphold-censorship-but-extreme-repression-leads-to-extreme/) [Ming-Dao Deng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ming-dao-deng/) > [A moving door hinge never corrodes. Flowing water never grows stagnant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ming-dao-deng/a-moving-door-hinge-never-corrodes-flowing-water-never-grows-stagnant/) [Ming-Dao Deng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ming-dao-deng/) > [A tree uses what comes its way to nurture itself. By sinking its roots deeply into the earth, by accepting the rain that flows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ming-dao-deng/a-tree-uses-what-comes-its-way-to-nurture-itself-by-sinking-its-roots/) [Ming-Dao Deng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ming-dao-deng/) [Explore all 44 Ming-Dao Deng quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ming-dao-deng/) ## More Ancient quotes > [“We ought to know the history of our ancient ancestors.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/we-ought-to-know-the-history-of-our-ancient-ancestors/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [In ancient times, those who wished to illuminate the world with virtue first brought order to their nations. Wishing to order well their nations,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/in-ancient-times-those-who-wished-to-illuminate-the-world-with-virtue/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [Ancient eyes had stared at me, filled with ancient grief. And something more. Something so alien and unexpected that I'd almost burst into tears.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/ancient-eyes-had-stared-at-me-filled-with-ancient-grief-and-something/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [“Whenever I think about ancient cultures nostalgia seizes me. Perhaps this is nothing but envy of the sweet slowness of the history of that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/whenever-i-think-about-ancient-cultures-nostalgia-seizes-me-perhaps/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [I don't know if I've come of age, but I'm certainly older now. I feel shrunken, as if there's a tiny ancient Oliver Tate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-dunthorne/i-don-t-know-if-i-ve-come-of-age-but-i-m-certainly-older-now-i-feel/) [Joe Dunthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-dunthorne/) > [Tentatively I stood a great lump of wood on the chopping block and bought the axe down on it. It flew into two perfect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-garner/tentatively-i-stood-a-great-lump-of-wood-on-the-chopping-block-and/) [Helen Garner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-garner/) > [Men must speak English who can write Sanskrit; they must speak a modern language who write, perchance, an ancient and universal one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/men-must-speak-english-who-can-write-sanskrit-they-must-speak-a/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The Tao is the center of the universe, the good man's treasure, the bad man's refuge. Honors can be bought with fine words, respect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/the-tao-is-the-center-of-the-universe-the-good-man-s-treasure-the-bad/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [So too, monks, I saw the ancient path, the ancient road traveled by the Perfectly Enlightened Ones of the past. And what is that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/so-too-monks-i-saw-the-ancient-path-the-ancient-road-traveled-by-the/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [Ancient societies had anthropomorphic gods: a huge pantheon expanding into centuries of dynastic drama; fathers and sons, martyred heroes, star-crossed lovers, the deaths of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hiddleston/ancient-societies-had-anthropomorphic-gods-a-huge-pantheon-expanding/) [Tom Hiddleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hiddleston/) > [My life shall be free and broad and great, and I will not be the slave to the sense delights which chained my ancient…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-london/my-life-shall-be-free-and-broad-and-great-and-i-will-not-be-the-slave/) [Jack London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-london/) > [Those of us with this ancient compulsion to tell stories sometimes start with a single kernel of something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-p-jones/those-of-us-with-this-ancient-compulsion-to-tell-stories-sometimes/) [Edward P. Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-p-jones/) > [All the stories I have told you are finally as useless as all ancient knowledge is to man and to us. Its images and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/all-the-stories-i-have-told-you-are-finally-as-useless-as-all-ancient/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [So what if I'm ninety-three? So what if I'm ancient and cranky and my body's a wreck? If they're willing to accept me and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-gruen/so-what-if-i-m-ninety-three-so-what-if-i-m-ancient-and-cranky-and-my/) [Sara Gruen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-gruen/) > [Science has revealed a universe that is vast, ancient, violent, strange, and beautiful, a universe of almost infinite variety and possibility one in which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-mlodinow/science-has-revealed-a-universe-that-is-vast-ancient-violent-strange/) [Leonard Mlodinow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-mlodinow/) [Browse all 2,415 Ancient quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancient/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "An ancient gnarled tree: Too fibrous for a logger's saw, Too twisted to fit a carpenter's square, Outlasts the whole forest.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ming-Dao Deng" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ming-dao-deng/an-ancient-gnarled-tree-too-fibrous-for-a-logger-s-saw-too-twisted-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ancient" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ming-dao-deng/an-ancient-gnarled-tree-too-fibrous-for-a-logger-s-saw-too-twisted-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6a/ming-dao-deng-15068_ancient_an-ancient-gnarled-tree-too-fibrous-for_177077.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6a/ming-dao-deng-15068_ancient_an-ancient-gnarled-tree-too-fibrous-for_177077.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6a/ming-dao-deng-15068_ancient_an-ancient-gnarled-tree-too-fibrous-for_177077.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“An ancient gnarled tree: Too fibrous for a logger's saw, Too twisted to fit a carpenter's square, Outlasts…” — Ming-Dao Deng", "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": "Ming-Dao Deng", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ming-dao-deng/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "An ancient gnarled tree: Too fibrous...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ming-dao-deng/an-ancient-gnarled-tree-too-fibrous-for-a-logger-s-saw-too-twisted-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ming-dao-deng/an-ancient-gnarled-tree-too-fibrous-for-a-logger-s-saw-too-twisted-to/#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 } } ] } ```