--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Our bodies are garbage heaps: we collect…" description: "\"Our bodies are garbage heaps: we collect experience, and from the decomposition of the thrown-out eggshells, spinach leaves, coffee grinds, and old ste..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48c/natalie-goldberg-1741_black_our-bodies-are-garbage-heaps-we-collect_48403.png" --- # Our bodies are garbage heaps: we collect experience, and… ![“Our bodies are garbage heaps: we collect experience, and from the decomposition of the thrown-out eggshells, spinach leaves, coffee grinds, and old steak bones out of our minds come nitrogen, heat, and very fertile soil. Out of this fertile soil bloom our poems and stories. But this does not come…” quote by Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48c/natalie-goldberg-1741_black_our-bodies-are-garbage-heaps-we-collect_48403.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48c/natalie-goldberg-1741_black_our-bodies-are-garbage-heaps-we-collect_48403.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48c/natalie-goldberg-1741_black_our-bodies-are-garbage-heaps-we-collect_48403.png) > “Our bodies are garbage heaps: we collect experience, and from the decomposition of the thrown-out eggshells, spinach leaves, coffee grinds, and old steak bones out of our minds come nitrogen, heat, and very fertile soil. Out of this fertile soil bloom our poems and stories. But this does not come all at once. It takes time. Continue to turn over and over the organic details of your life until some of them fall through the garbage of discursive thoughts to the solid ground of black soil.” [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote likens human experience to organic waste that, through decay, becomes fertile ground for creative expression, emphasizing patience and continual reflection. **In simple terms:** Experience decays into creative soil. Key Takeaway Reflection transforms waste into art. Themes Creativity Transformation Patience Reflection Metaphor Mood Contemplative Hopeful Inspired Type Metaphorical Philosophical Inspirational When to use this quote - Writing poetry - Storytelling - Personal growth Key Concepts Organic decay Creative process Mental cultivation Practical Applications - Creative writing workshops - Therapeutic journaling Questions to Reflect On - How does embracing mental 'waste' foster creativity? - What practices help turn discarded thoughts into artistic material? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) [Coffee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coffee/) [Decomposition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decomposition/) [Eggshells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eggshells/) [Heat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heat/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) ## Related quotes > [“He was grateful, then, for his friends, and for how relatively little they had mined from him, how they had left him to himself,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanya-yanagihara/he-was-grateful-then-for-his-friends-and-for-how-relatively-little/) [Hanya Yanagihara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanya-yanagihara/) > [The earth is rocky and full of roots; it's clay, and it seems doomed and polluted, but you dig little holes for the ugly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/the-earth-is-rocky-and-full-of-roots-it-s-clay-and-it-seems-doomed/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“Dust rises at every step, fine as flour. It is dried river silt, that dust. 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Is it thus with the hydrocarbons…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcellin-berthelot/do-these-fuels-result-always-and-necessarily-in-one-way-from-the/) [Marcellin Berthelot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcellin-berthelot/) > [A life cycle can be imposed on an object. 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