--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: How far must suffering and misery go…" description: "\"How far must suffering and misery go before we see that even in the day of vast cities and powerful machines, the good earth is our mother and that if ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/521/paul-sears-74292_cities_how-far-must-suffering-and-misery-go-bef_1651802.jpg" --- # How far must suffering and misery go before we see that… ![“How far must suffering and misery go before we see that even in the day of vast cities and powerful machines, the good earth is our mother and that if we destroy her, we destroy ourselves?” quote by Paul Sears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/521/paul-sears-74292_cities_how-far-must-suffering-and-misery-go-bef_1651802.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/521/paul-sears-74292_cities_how-far-must-suffering-and-misery-go-bef_1651802.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/521/paul-sears-74292_cities_how-far-must-suffering-and-misery-go-bef_1651802.jpg) > “How far must suffering and misery go before we see that even in the day of vast cities and powerful machines, the good earth is our mother and that if we destroy her, we destroy ourselves?” [Paul Sears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-sears/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human exploitation of Earth threatens survival; ecological stewardship is essential for self-preservation. **In simple terms:** Destroying Earth destroys us. Key Takeaway Prioritize ecological care. Themes environment sustainability interdependence responsibility Mood urgent hopeful Type environmental motivational When to use this quote - policy development - urban planning - education campaigns Key Concepts Ecological ethics planetary health Questions to Reflect On - How can modern societies balance progress with ecological health? - What personal actions reflect Earth as a mother? A Different Perspective May underestimate economic challenges. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cities/) [Computers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computers/) [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Earth Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth-mother-581788/) [Environmental](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/environmental/) [Environmental stewardship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/environmental-stewardship/) [Far Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/far-suffering-662429/) [Good earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-earth/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Machines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/machines/) [Misery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misery/) [Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother/) [Mother Destroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother-destroy-662431/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Powerful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/powerful/) [Stewardship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stewardship/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) [Suffering Misery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering-misery-662430/) ## Related quotes > [For those who use their intelligence and their study as a weapon, the Rosary is most effective. Because that apparently monotonous way of beseeching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josemaria-escriva/for-those-who-use-their-intelligence-and-their-study-as-a-weapon-the/) [Josemaria Escriva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josemaria-escriva/) > [So much of what we are currently seeing as far as human suffering and misery comes from diseases that should have been preventable but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-collins/so-much-of-what-we-are-currently-seeing-as-far-as-human-suffering-and/) [Francis Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-collins/) > [There would be far less suffering in the world if human beings-God knows why they are made like this-did not use their imaginations so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/there-would-be-far-less-suffering-in-the-world-if-human-beings-god/) [Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Most men, whether men or women, wish above all else to be comfortable, and thought is a pre-eminently uncomfortable process; it brings to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-brittain/most-men-whether-men-or-women-wish-above-all-else-to-be-comfortable/) [Vera Brittain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-brittain/) > [No doubt you are right... there would be far less suffering amongst mankind if men... did not employ their imaginations so assiduously in recalling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/no-doubt-you-are-right-there-would-be-far-less-suffering-amongst/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [“It is often simply from lack of creative imagination that we do not go far enough in suffering.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/it-is-often-simply-from-lack-of-creative-imagination-that-we-do-not/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“Vielleicht, daß ich durch schwere Berge gehe in harten Adern, wie ein Erz allein; und bin so tief, daß ich kein Ende sehe und…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/vielleicht-da-ich-durch-schwere-berge-gehe-in-harten-adern-wie-ein/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [Things do change. The only question is that since things are deteriorating so quickly, will society and man's habits change quickly enough?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/things-do-change-the-only-question-is-that-since-things-are/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [Almost all these hotspots around the world, most have been destroyed to the point where there is no wildlife and very little of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-fowler/almost-all-these-hotspots-around-the-world-most-have-been-destroyed/) [Jim Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-fowler/) > [We are like ignorant shepherds living on a site where great civilizations once flourished. The shepherds play with the fragments that pop up to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-bloom/we-are-like-ignorant-shepherds-living-on-a-site-where-great-2/) [Allan Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-bloom/) > [Uniformity is not nature's way; diversity is nature's way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vandana-shiva/uniformity-is-not-nature-s-way-diversity-is-nature-s-way/) [Vandana Shiva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vandana-shiva/) > [We're saying environmental stewardship and jobs in the economy. We can do both together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-pruitt/we-re-saying-environmental-stewardship-and-jobs-in-the-economy-we-can/) [Scott Pruitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-pruitt/) > [For if one link in nature's chain might be lost, another might be lost, until the whole of things will vanish by piecemeal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/for-if-one-link-in-nature-s-chain-might-be-lost-another-might-be-lost/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [North Dakota is already an energy and ag powerhouse, and we're excited to build on our reputation as states that feed and fuel the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-burgum/north-dakota-is-already-an-energy-and-ag-powerhouse-and-we-re-excited/) [Doug Burgum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-burgum/) > [We should preserve every scrap of biodiversity as priceless while we learn to use it and come to understand what it means to humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/we-should-preserve-every-scrap-of-biodiversity-as-priceless-while-we/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) ## More by Paul Sears > [It is the great destiny of human science, not to ease man's labors or prolong his life, noble as those ends may be nor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-sears/it-is-the-great-destiny-of-human-science-not-to-ease-man-s-labors-or/) [Paul Sears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-sears/) > [The rise of the ecologist almost exactly parallels the decline of the naturalist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-sears/the-rise-of-the-ecologist-almost-exactly-parallels-the-decline-of-the/) [Paul Sears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-sears/) [Explore all 3 Paul Sears quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-sears/) ## More Cities quotes > [Public infrastructure around the world is facing unprecedented stress, with hurricanes, cyclones, floods and forest fires all increasing in frequency and intensity. It's easy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-klein/public-infrastructure-around-the-world-is-facing-unprecedented-stress/) [Naomi Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-klein/) > [Surely, if Mother Nature had been consulted, she would never have consented to building a city in New Orleans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mortimer-zuckerman/surely-if-mother-nature-had-been-consulted-she-would-never-have/) [Mortimer Zuckerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mortimer-zuckerman/) > [Cities are 2% of the earth's crust, but they are 50% of the world's population.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlo-ratti/cities-are-2-of-the-earth-s-crust-but-they-are-50-of-the-world-s/) [Carlo Ratti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlo-ratti/) > [A man could be a lover and defender of the wilderness without ever in his lifetime leaving the boundaries of asphalt, powerlines, and right-angled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/a-man-could-be-a-lover-and-defender-of-the-wilderness-without-ever-in/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [All Germany was in turmoil. Revolutionaries seized power in the cities of Munich, Hanover and Cologne. One regional German government after another was toppled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cross-giblin/all-germany-was-in-turmoil-revolutionaries-seized-power-in-the-cities/) [James Cross Giblin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-cross-giblin/) > [Nice is a city of ghosts and specters, but I hope not to become one of them right away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-modiano/nice-is-a-city-of-ghosts-and-specters-but-i-hope-not-to-become-one-of/) [Patrick Modiano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-modiano/) > [I know of not one Republican candidate that would not appear publicly with Mitt Romney and I know many Democrats that don't even want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-sessions/i-know-of-not-one-republican-candidate-that-would-not-appear-publicly/) [Pete Sessions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-sessions/) > [ Just between you and me, shouldn’t the World Bank be encouraging MORE migration of the dirty industries to the LDCs \[Less Developed Countries\]?... I… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-summers/just-between-you-and-me-shouldn-t-the-world-bank-be-encouraging-more/) [Lawrence Summers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-summers/) > [We will neglect our cities to our peril, for in neglecting them we neglect the nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/we-will-neglect-our-cities-to-our-peril-for-in-neglecting-them-we/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [I didn't know the city at all, but I was so happy to be in New York I cried. I was so excited.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greta-gerwig/i-didn-t-know-the-city-at-all-but-i-was-so-happy-to-be-in-new-york-i/) [Greta Gerwig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greta-gerwig/) > [Outside of Paris, there is no hope for the cultured.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moliere/outside-of-paris-there-is-no-hope-for-the-cultured/) [Moliere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moliere/) > [Dawn's faint breath breathes with your mouth at the ends of empty streets. Gray light your eyes, sweet drops of dawn on dark hills.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/dawn-s-faint-breath-breathes-with-your-mouth-at-the-ends-of-empty/) [Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/) > [Vienna is a handsome, lively city, and pleases me exceedingly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-chopin/vienna-is-a-handsome-lively-city-and-pleases-me-exceedingly/) [Frederic Chopin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-chopin/) > [“We have grace of strength to work, to clear our cities of any dirt.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/we-have-grace-of-strength-to-work-to-clear-our-cities-of-any-dirt/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [I was too tired to think. I merely felt the town as a unique unreality. What was it? I knew -- the moon's picture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-was-too-tired-to-think-i-merely-felt-the-town-as-a-unique-unreality/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 7,153 Cities quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cities/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "How far must suffering and misery go before we see that even in the day of vast cities and powerful machines, the good earth is our mother and that if we destroy her, we destroy ourselves?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Paul Sears" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-sears/how-far-must-suffering-and-misery-go-before-we-see-that-even-in-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cities" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-sears/how-far-must-suffering-and-misery-go-before-we-see-that-even-in-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/521/paul-sears-74292_cities_how-far-must-suffering-and-misery-go-bef_1651802.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/521/paul-sears-74292_cities_how-far-must-suffering-and-misery-go-bef_1651802.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/521/paul-sears-74292_cities_how-far-must-suffering-and-misery-go-bef_1651802.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“How far must suffering and misery go before we see that even in the day of vast cities and powerful…” — Paul Sears", "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": "Paul Sears", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-sears/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "How far must suffering and misery...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-sears/how-far-must-suffering-and-misery-go-before-we-see-that-even-in-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-sears/how-far-must-suffering-and-misery-go-before-we-see-that-even-in-the/#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 } } ] } ```