--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Nowhere on the shore is the relation of a…" description: "\"Nowhere on the shore is the relation of a creature to its surroundings a matter of a single cause and effect; each living thing is bound to its world b..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc5/rachel-carson-2645_bounds_nowhere-on-the-shore-is-the-relation-of_1083198.png" --- # Nowhere on the shore is the relation of a creature to its… ![“Nowhere on the shore is the relation of a creature to its surroundings a matter of a single cause and effect; each living thing is bound to its world by many threads, weaving the intricate design of the fabric of life.” quote by Rachel Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc5/rachel-carson-2645_bounds_nowhere-on-the-shore-is-the-relation-of_1083198.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc5/rachel-carson-2645_bounds_nowhere-on-the-shore-is-the-relation-of_1083198.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc5/rachel-carson-2645_bounds_nowhere-on-the-shore-is-the-relation-of_1083198.png) > “Nowhere on the shore is the relation of a creature to its surroundings a matter of a single cause and effect; each living thing is bound to its world by many threads, weaving the intricate design of the fabric of life.” [Rachel Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-carson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. All living beings are interconnected, with many causes shaping their relationship to the environment. **In simple terms:** Life is a web of many influences. Key Takeaway Recognize multiple influences in ecological thinking. Themes interconnectedness environment complexity Mood thoughtful concerned Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - conservation policy - education - urban planning - personal lifestyle choices Key Concepts ecology systems thinking Questions to Reflect On - How do you see multiple threads affecting your local environment? - What single cause might you be overlooking? A Different Perspective Oversimplifying cause and effect can ignore crucial factors. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bounds/) [Cause and effect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cause-and-effect/) [Causes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/causes/) [Creature Surroundings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creature-surroundings-2760503/) [Creatures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creatures/) [Design](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/design/) [Effects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/effects/) [Fabric](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fabric/) [Fabric of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fabric-of-life/) [Intricate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intricate/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Living things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/living-things/) [Matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matter/) [Ocean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ocean/) [Relation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relation/) [Relation Creature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relation-creature-2145095/) [Shore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shore/) [Shore Relation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shore-relation-2760505/) [Surroundings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surroundings/) [Surroundings Matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surroundings-matter-2760504/) [Thread](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thread/) [Threads Weaving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/threads-weaving-1979124/) [Weaving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weaving/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [“I imagined myself in some way defined by my relation to another creature.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-erdrich/i-imagined-myself-in-some-way-defined-by-my-relation-to-another/) [Louise Erdrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-erdrich/) > [I think our lives are connected by threads. We're weaving our own quilts as we go along and it has been my experience that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-garver/i-think-our-lives-are-connected-by-threads-we-re-weaving-our-own/) [Kathy Garver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-garver/) > [As crude a weapon as a cave man's club, the chemical barrage has been hurled against the fabric of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-carson/as-crude-a-weapon-as-a-cave-man-s-club-the-chemical-barrage-has-been/) [Rachel Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-carson/) > [As crude a weapon as the cave man's club, the chemical barrage has been hurled against the fabric of life - a fabric on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-carson/as-crude-a-weapon-as-the-cave-man-s-club-the-chemical-barrage-has/) [Rachel Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-carson/) > [One can be absolutely truthful and sincere even though admittedly the most outrageous liar. Fiction and invention are of the very fabric of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/one-can-be-absolutely-truthful-and-sincere-even-though-admittedly-the-2/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“It seemed to him that there was a scarlet thread running through the fabric of life, one that joined events across the years, piercing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-wynne/it-seemed-to-him-that-there-was-a-scarlet-thread-running-through-the/) [Douglas Wynne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-wynne/) > [“...he liked his transcendence out in plain sight where he could keep an eye on it -- say, in a nice stained-glass window --…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/he-liked-his-transcendence-out-in-plain-sight-where-he-could-keep-an/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [The reality of music itself, which is the fabric of life for me, is where most of my attention is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-metheny/the-reality-of-music-itself-which-is-the-fabric-of-life-for-me-is/) [Pat Metheny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-metheny/) > [The patient person accepts a certain amount of failure knowing that it is as important a thread in the fabric of life as is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-waitley/the-patient-person-accepts-a-certain-amount-of-failure-knowing-that/) [Denis Waitley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-waitley/) > [Evolution isn't just a story about where we came from. It's an epic at the center of life itself. Far from robbing our lives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-r-miller/evolution-isn-t-just-a-story-about-where-we-came-from-it-s-an-epic-at/) [Kenneth R. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-r-miller/) > [“That's what we do. Embellish. Decorate. Unvarnished truth has only limited appeal. Some events are a joy to recall, but others are best modified,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-gillard/that-s-what-we-do-embellish-decorate-unvarnished-truth-has-only/) [Linda Gillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-gillard/) > [“The more we see that life isn’t about an individualistic challenge to conquer or overcome, and the more we see that, instead, we’re in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-d-maurer/the-more-we-see-that-life-isn-t-about-an-individualistic-challenge-to/) [Daniel D. Maurer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-d-maurer/) > [True friends are like tightly interwoven threads running with exactness, consistency, beauty and strength through the fabric of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aruho-marvin/true-friends-are-like-tightly-interwoven-threads-running-with/) [Aruho Marvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aruho-marvin/) > [Topographically the country is magnificent - and terrifying. Why terrifying? Because nowhere else in the world is the divorce between man and nature so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/topographically-the-country-is-magnificent-and-terrifying-why/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [When learning is recognized in the fabric of life and encouraged, when families make their decisions based on what leads to more interesting and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-dodd/when-learning-is-recognized-in-the-fabric-of-life-and-encouraged-when/) [Sandra Dodd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-dodd/) ## More by Rachel Carson > [It was a spring without voices. On the mornings that had once throbbed with the dawn chorus of robins, catbirds, doves, jays, wrens, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-carson/it-was-a-spring-without-voices-on-the-mornings-that-had-once-throbbed/) [Rachel Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-carson/) > [When we go down to the low-tide line, we enter a world that is as old as the earth itself - the primeval meeting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-carson/when-we-go-down-to-the-low-tide-line-we-enter-a-world-that-is-as-old/) [Rachel Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-carson/) > [There is no drop of water in the ocean, not even in the deepest parts of the abyss, that does not know and respond…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-carson/there-is-no-drop-of-water-in-the-ocean-not-even-in-the-deepest-parts/) [Rachel Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-carson/) > [The control of nature is a phrase conceived in arrogance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-carson/the-control-of-nature-is-a-phrase-conceived-in-arrogance/) [Rachel Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-carson/) > [Wonder and humility are wholesome emotions and they do not exist side by side with a lust for destruction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-carson/wonder-and-humility-are-wholesome-emotions-and-they-do-not-exist-side/) [Rachel Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-carson/) > [Only within the 20th Century has biological thought been focused on ecology, or the relation of the living creature to its environment. Awareness of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-carson/only-within-the-20th-century-has-biological-thought-been-focused-on/) [Rachel Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-carson/) > [It is not half so important to know as to feel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-carson/it-is-not-half-so-important-to-know-as-to-feel/) [Rachel Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-carson/) > [The Choice, after all, is ours to make.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-carson/the-choice-after-all-is-ours-to-make/) [Rachel Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-carson/) > [Now I truly believe that we in this generation must come to terms with nature, and I think we're challenged, as mankind has never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-carson/now-i-truly-believe-that-we-in-this-generation-must-come-to-terms/) [Rachel Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-carson/) > [Any concept of biology is not only sterile and profitless, it is distorted and untrue, if it puts its primary focus on unnatural conditions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-carson/any-concept-of-biology-is-not-only-sterile-and-profitless-it-is/) [Rachel Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-carson/) > [Autumn comes to the sea with a fresh blaze of phosphorescence, when every wave crest is aflame. Here and there the whole surface may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-carson/autumn-comes-to-the-sea-with-a-fresh-blaze-of-phosphorescence-when/) [Rachel Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-carson/) > [“The sea is blue because the sunlight is reflected back to our eyes from the water molecules or from very minute particles suspended in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-carson/the-sea-is-blue-because-the-sunlight-is-reflected-back-to-our-eyes/) [Rachel Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-carson/) > [If I had influence with the good fairy who is supposed to preside over the christening of all children, I should ask that her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-carson/if-i-had-influence-with-the-good-fairy-who-is-supposed-to-preside/) [Rachel Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-carson/) > [Over increasingly large areas of the United States, spring now comes unheralded by the return of the birds, and the early mornings are strangely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-carson/over-increasingly-large-areas-of-the-united-states-spring-now-comes/) [Rachel Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-carson/) > [I like to define biology as the history of the earth and all its life - past, present, and future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-carson/i-like-to-define-biology-as-the-history-of-the-earth-and-all-its-life/) [Rachel Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-carson/) [Explore all 156 Rachel Carson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-carson/) ## More Bounds quotes > [Man will not always stay on Earth; the pursuit of light and space will lead him to penetrate the bounds of the atmosphere, timidly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konstantin-tsiolkovsky/man-will-not-always-stay-on-earth-the-pursuit-of-light-and-space-will/) [Konstantin Tsiolkovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konstantin-tsiolkovsky/) > [Importunity is a condition of prayer. We are to press the matter, not with vain repetitions, but with urgent repetitions. We repeat, not to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-mckendree-bounds/importunity-is-a-condition-of-prayer-we-are-to-press-the-matter-not/) [Edward McKendree Bounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-mckendree-bounds/) > [If the civil magistrate be a Christian, a disciple or follower of the meek Lamb of God, he is bound to be far from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-williams/if-the-civil-magistrate-be-a-christian-a-disciple-or-follower-of-the/) [Roger Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-williams/) > [We have committed ourselves to pursue joint policies, but then national governments say, "We aren't bound by that." That is a dramatic situation, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-schulz/we-have-committed-ourselves-to-pursue-joint-policies-but-then/) [Martin Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-schulz/) > [The World's a Printing-House, our words, our thoughts, Our deeds, are characters of several sizes. Each soul is a Compos'tor, of whose faults The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-quarles/the-world-s-a-printing-house-our-words-our-thoughts-our-deeds-are/) [Francis Quarles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-quarles/) > [Christian obligation cannot be made to accord with a law of expediency. The Christian's maxims are, Do right because you are bound to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-landey-patton/christian-obligation-cannot-be-made-to-accord-with-a-law-of/) [Francis Landey Patton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-landey-patton/) > [Such as the chain of causes we call Fate, such is the chain of wishes: one links on to another; the whole man is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/such-as-the-chain-of-causes-we-call-fate-such-is-the-chain-of-wishes/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > ['You spin in the sky, the world spins under you, and you step from land to land, while we . . .' She turned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/you-spin-in-the-sky-the-world-spins-under-you-and-you-step-from-land/) [Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/) > ['Facts' are the bounds of human knowledge, set for it, not by it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/facts-are-the-bounds-of-human-knowledge-set-for-it-not-by-it/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [An order given in battle, an instruction issued by the master of a sailing ship, a cry for help, are as powerful in modifying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bronislaw-malinowski/an-order-given-in-battle-an-instruction-issued-by-the-master-of-a/) [Bronislaw Malinowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bronislaw-malinowski/) > [It is only when our life proceeds within bounds and in an accepted, disciplined way, that the mind can be free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vinoba-bhave/it-is-only-when-our-life-proceeds-within-bounds-and-in-an-accepted/) [Vinoba Bhave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vinoba-bhave/) > [Yes, thou art ever present, power divine; not circumscribed by time, nor fixed by space, confined to altars, nor to temples bound. In wealth,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/yes-thou-art-ever-present-power-divine-not-circumscribed-by-time-nor/) [Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/) > [I have visited sweatshops, factories, and crowded slums. If I could not see it, I could smell it. The foundation of society is laid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/i-have-visited-sweatshops-factories-and-crowded-slums-if-i-could-not/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [Once we are bound together to our brothers by a common good that is outside us, then we can breathe. Experience teaches us that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/once-we-are-bound-together-to-our-brothers-by-a-common-good-that-is/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [I am quite conscious that my speculations run beyond the bounds of true science…It is a mere rag of an hypothesis with as many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/i-am-quite-conscious-that-my-speculations-run-beyond-the-bounds-of/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) [Browse all 1,649 Bounds quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bounds/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Nowhere on the shore is the relation of a creature to its surroundings a matter of a single cause and effect; each living thing is bound to its world by many threads, weaving the intricate design of the fabric of life.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Rachel Carson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-carson/nowhere-on-the-shore-is-the-relation-of-a-creature-to-its/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bounds" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-carson/nowhere-on-the-shore-is-the-relation-of-a-creature-to-its/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc5/rachel-carson-2645_bounds_nowhere-on-the-shore-is-the-relation-of_1083198.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc5/rachel-carson-2645_bounds_nowhere-on-the-shore-is-the-relation-of_1083198.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc5/rachel-carson-2645_bounds_nowhere-on-the-shore-is-the-relation-of_1083198.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Nowhere on the shore is the relation of a creature to its surroundings a matter of a single cause and…” — Rachel Carson", "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": "Rachel Carson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-carson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Nowhere on the shore is the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-carson/nowhere-on-the-shore-is-the-relation-of-a-creature-to-its/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-carson/nowhere-on-the-shore-is-the-relation-of-a-creature-to-its/#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 } } ] } ```