--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Once in his life a man ought to…" description: "\"Once in his life a man ought to concentrate his mind upon the remembered earth. He ought to give himself up to a particular landscape in his experience..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac7/n-scott-momaday-12844_angle_once-in-his-life-a-man-ought-to-concentr_399519.png" --- # Once in his life a man ought to concentrate his mind upon… ![“Once in his life a man ought to concentrate his mind upon the remembered earth. He ought to give himself up to a particular landscape in his experience; to look at it from as many angles as he can, to wonder upon it, and dwell upon it.” quote by N. Scott Momaday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac7/n-scott-momaday-12844_angle_once-in-his-life-a-man-ought-to-concentr_399519.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac7/n-scott-momaday-12844_angle_once-in-his-life-a-man-ought-to-concentr_399519.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac7/n-scott-momaday-12844_angle_once-in-his-life-a-man-ought-to-concentr_399519.png) > “Once in his life a man ought to concentrate his mind upon the remembered earth. He ought to give himself up to a particular landscape in his experience; to look at it from as many angles as he can, to wonder upon it, and dwell upon it.” [N. Scott Momaday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-scott-momaday/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Focusing deeply on a single landscape deepens connection to place and self, fostering reflection. **In simple terms:** Concentrate on one place to understand yourself. Key Takeaway Engage fully with your surroundings. Themes nature mindfulness identity Mood contemplative peaceful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - hiking - photography - meditation - travel journaling Key Concepts place attachment environmental perception Questions to Reflect On - How does a specific place shape your identity? - What new angles can you explore in familiar settings? A Different Perspective Over‑focus may limit broader perspective. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home/) [Landscape](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/landscape/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Wonder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wonder/) ## Related quotes > [“Once in his life a man ought to concentrate his mind upon the remembered earth. He ought to give himself up to a particular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-scott-momaday/once-in-his-life-a-man-ought-to-concentrate-his-mind-upon-the-2/) [N. Scott Momaday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-scott-momaday/) > [It is here that I can concentrate my mind upon the Remembered Earth. It is here that I am most conscious of being, here…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-scott-momaday/it-is-here-that-i-can-concentrate-my-mind-upon-the-remembered-earth/) [N. Scott Momaday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-scott-momaday/) > [I hope to be remembered as someone who made the earth a little more beautiful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-o-douglas/i-hope-to-be-remembered-as-someone-who-made-the-earth-a-little-more/) [William O. Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-o-douglas/) > [Parents are the last people on earth who ought to have children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/parents-are-the-last-people-on-earth-who-ought-to-have-children/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [Our country represents nothing but peaceful intentions toward all the earth, but it ought not to fail to maintain such a military force as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/calvin-coolidge/our-country-represents-nothing-but-peaceful-intentions-toward-all-the/) [Calvin Coolidge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/calvin-coolidge/) > [“Cheryl was aided in her search by the Internet. Each time she remembered a name that seemed to be important in her life, she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-hersha/cheryl-was-aided-in-her-search-by-the-internet-each-time-she/) [Cheryl Hersha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-hersha/) > [“You are aware only of a small amount of the total information your eyes take in, and even less is processed by your conscious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mcraney/you-are-aware-only-of-a-small-amount-of-the-total-information-your/) [David McRaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mcraney/) > [I felt dumb and subdued. Every time I tried to concentrate, my mind glided off, like a skater, into a large empty space, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-felt-dumb-and-subdued-every-time-i-tried-to-concentrate-my-mind/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [You do miracles if you concentrate your mind on one thing and one thing only.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikos-kazantzakis/you-do-miracles-if-you-concentrate-your-mind-on-one-thing-and-one/) [Nikos Kazantzakis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikos-kazantzakis/) > [Concentrate the mind on the present moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/concentrate-the-mind-on-the-present-moment/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment. Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buddha/do-not-dwell-in-the-past-do-not-dream-of-the-future-concentrate-the/) [Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buddha/) > [Do not dwell in the pass, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buddha/do-not-dwell-in-the-pass-do-not-dream-of-the-future-concentrate-the/) [Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buddha/) > [“It is best not to dwell in the past,nor dream of the future.But it is better to concentrate the mind on the present moment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacksin-taviri/it-is-best-not-to-dwell-in-the-past-nor-dream-of-the-future-but-it-is/) [jacksin taviri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacksin-taviri/) > [Deadlines concentrate the mind. But deadlines should not be dogmas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashraf-ghani/deadlines-concentrate-the-mind-but-deadlines-should-not-be-dogmas/) [Ashraf Ghani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashraf-ghani/) > [“Your locus of attention is the single point on which you are able to concentrate your mind. You’re human and you can only focus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/your-locus-of-attention-is-the-single-point-on-which-you-are-able-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by N. Scott Momaday > [It is here that I can concentrate my mind upon the Remembered Earth. It is here that I am most conscious of being, here…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-scott-momaday/it-is-here-that-i-can-concentrate-my-mind-upon-the-remembered-earth/) [N. Scott Momaday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-scott-momaday/) > [“He wondered what his sorrow was and could not remember.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-scott-momaday/he-wondered-what-his-sorrow-was-and-could-not-remember/) [N. Scott Momaday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-scott-momaday/) > [I wonder if, in the dark night of the sea, the octopus dreams of me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-scott-momaday/i-wonder-if-in-the-dark-night-of-the-sea-the-octopus-dreams-of-me/) [N. Scott Momaday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-scott-momaday/) > [Sometimes, I think the best kind of poem is one in which there is an acute balance between what is humorous and that which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-scott-momaday/sometimes-i-think-the-best-kind-of-poem-is-one-in-which-there-is-an/) [N. Scott Momaday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-scott-momaday/) > [My father was a painter and he taught art. He once said to me, 'I never knew an Indian child who could not draw.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-scott-momaday/my-father-was-a-painter-and-he-taught-art-he-once-said-to-me-i-never/) [N. Scott Momaday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-scott-momaday/) > [“If coupling should but make us whole / And of the selfsame mind and soul, / Then couple let's in celebration; / We have contained the population.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-scott-momaday/if-coupling-should-but-make-us-whole-and-of-the-selfsame-mind-and/) [N. Scott Momaday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-scott-momaday/) > [In the beginning was the word, and it was spoken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-scott-momaday/in-the-beginning-was-the-word-and-it-was-spoken/) [N. Scott Momaday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-scott-momaday/) > [The Kiowas reckoned their stature by the distance they could see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-scott-momaday/the-kiowas-reckoned-their-stature-by-the-distance-they-could-see/) [N. Scott Momaday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-scott-momaday/) > [“Once in his life a man ought to concentrate his mind upon the remembered earth. He ought to give himself up to a particular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-scott-momaday/once-in-his-life-a-man-ought-to-concentrate-his-mind-upon-the-2/) [N. Scott Momaday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-scott-momaday/) > [Indians are marvelous storytellers. In some ways, that oral tradition is stronger than the written tradition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-scott-momaday/indians-are-marvelous-storytellers-in-some-ways-that-oral-tradition/) [N. Scott Momaday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-scott-momaday/) > [Your imagination comes to life, and this, you think, is where Creation was begun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-scott-momaday/your-imagination-comes-to-life-and-this-you-think-is-where-creation/) [N. Scott Momaday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-scott-momaday/) > [As far as I am concerned, poetry is a statement concerning the human condition, composed in verse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-scott-momaday/as-far-as-i-am-concerned-poetry-is-a-statement-concerning-the-human/) [N. Scott Momaday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-scott-momaday/) > [It's a landscape that has to be seen to be believed. And as I say on occasion, it may have to be believed in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-scott-momaday/it-s-a-landscape-that-has-to-be-seen-to-be-believed-and-as-i-say-on/) [N. Scott Momaday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-scott-momaday/) > [There was only the dark infinity in which nothing was. And something happened. At the distance of a star something happened, and everything began.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-scott-momaday/there-was-only-the-dark-infinity-in-which-nothing-was-and-something/) [N. Scott Momaday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-scott-momaday/) > [The highest human purpose is always to reinvent and celebrate the sacred.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-scott-momaday/the-highest-human-purpose-is-always-to-reinvent-and-celebrate-the/) [N. Scott Momaday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-scott-momaday/) [Explore all 53 N. Scott Momaday quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-scott-momaday/) ## More Angle quotes > [Well, you can certainly teach free-throwing. And you can teach the boys to pass at angles and run in curves. - University of Kansas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darryl-dawkins/well-you-can-certainly-teach-free-throwing-and-you-can-teach-the-boys/) [Darryl Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darryl-dawkins/) > [I like small things, I like small moments that are almost elliptical, that are not necessarily linear; they're natural things that happen in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-carter/i-like-small-things-i-like-small-moments-that-are-almost-elliptical/) [Keith Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-carter/) > [Los Angles to me seems to be a little bit more forgiving. They're just as rowdy and they're just as excited but they understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-cole/los-angles-to-me-seems-to-be-a-little-bit-more-forgiving-they-re-just/) [Adam Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-cole/) > [Our mind is a flowing something. It oscillates. Concentration is merely the continuous return to the same problem from a million angles… So my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-laubach/our-mind-is-a-flowing-something-it-oscillates-concentration-is-merely/) [Frank Laubach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-laubach/) > [There's only a very small representation of girls among you. Too little. Women have much to tell us in today’s society. Sometimes we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/there-s-only-a-very-small-representation-of-girls-among-you-too/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [The genius is a genius by the first look he casts on any object. Is his eye creative? Does he not rest in angles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-genius-is-a-genius-by-the-first-look-he-casts-on-any-object-is/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Once I'd worked out that I couldn't possibly expect people to enjoy a monstrous, 3000-page book, I realised I could in fact create a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/once-i-d-worked-out-that-i-couldn-t-possibly-expect-people-to-enjoy-a/) [Carlos Ruiz Zafon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/) > [Writing is a intensely personal activity. I can pen down my best thoughts when I'm alone. But when one is elevated into the stature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashwin-sanghi/writing-is-a-intensely-personal-activity-i-can-pen-down-my-best/) [Ashwin Sanghi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashwin-sanghi/) > [I have known a very good, fisher angle diligently four or six hours for a river carp, and not have a bite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/izaak-walton/i-have-known-a-very-good-fisher-angle-diligently-four-or-six-hours/) [Izaak Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/izaak-walton/) > [“Distribution of weight is preferable to balancing everything on the head of a pin.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/psixaristw/distribution-of-weight-is-preferable-to-balancing-everything-on-the/) Psixaristw > [He was not as soft as when I'd first met him, not as young, but the angles of his face, his quick gestures, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-stiefvater/he-was-not-as-soft-as-when-i-d-first-met-him-not-as-young-but-the/) [Maggie Stiefvater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-stiefvater/) > [If somebody is really trying to take your head off with a baseball bat - I don't know how long you're supposed to stand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/if-somebody-is-really-trying-to-take-your-head-off-with-a-baseball/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Sometimes I sit and look at life from a different angle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/sometimes-i-sit-and-look-at-life-from-a-different-angle/) [Tupac Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/) > [Teaching, like any truly human activity, emerges from one's inwardness, for better or worse. As I teach I project the condition of my soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/parker-j-palmer/teaching-like-any-truly-human-activity-emerges-from-one-s-inwardness/) [Parker J. Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/parker-j-palmer/) > [The divisions of science are not like different lines that meet in one angle, but rather like the branches of trees that join in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/the-divisions-of-science-are-not-like-different-lines-that-meet-in/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) Browse all 645 Angle quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Once in his life a man ought to concentrate his mind upon the remembered earth. He ought to give himself up to a particular landscape in his experience; to look at it from as many angles as he can, to wonder upon it, and dwell upon it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "N. 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