--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: She was one of those exceptional children…" description: "\"“She was one of those exceptional children who do still spend time outside, in solitude. In her case nature represented beauty - and refuge. \"It's so p..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77e/richard-louv-3583_beauty_she-was-one-of-those-exceptional-childre_23844.png" --- # She was one of those exceptional children who do still… ![“She was one of those exceptional children who do still spend time outside, in solitude. In her case nature represented beauty - and refuge. "It's so peaceful out there and the air smells so good. I mean, it's polluted, but not as much as the city air. For me, it's completely different there," she…” quote by Richard Louv](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77e/richard-louv-3583_beauty_she-was-one-of-those-exceptional-childre_23844.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77e/richard-louv-3583_beauty_she-was-one-of-those-exceptional-childre_23844.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77e/richard-louv-3583_beauty_she-was-one-of-those-exceptional-childre_23844.png) > ““She was one of those exceptional children who do still spend time outside, in solitude. In her case nature represented beauty - and refuge. "It's so peaceful out there and the air smells so good. I mean, it's polluted, but not as much as the city air. For me, it's completely different there," she said. "It's like you're free when you go out there. It's your own time. Sometimes I go there when I'm mad - and then, just with the peacefulness, I'm better. I can come back home happy, and my mom doesn't even know why." The she described her special part of the woods. "I had a place. There was a big waterfall and a creek on one side of it. I'd dug a big hole there, and sometimes I'd take a tent back there, or a blanket, and just lie down in the hole, and look up at the trees and sky. Sometimes I'd fall asleep back there. I just felt free; it was like my place, and I could do what I wanted, with nobody to stop me. I used to go down there almost every day." The young poet's face flushed. Her voice thickened. "And then they just cut the woods down. It was like they cut down part of me.”” [Richard Louv](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-louv/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A child finds deep solace and identity in a personal natural sanctuary, feeling liberated and healed by its quiet, contrasting sharply with the polluted city. This bond is shattered when the environment is destroyed, equating loss of nature with loss of self. **In simple terms:** Nature offers personal refuge and emotional restoration. Key Takeaway Nature is essential for emotional well‑being. Themes solitude nature as sanctuary environmental loss childhood identity healing freedom Mood nostalgic reflective hopeful Type personal anecdote nature reflection When to use this quote - seeking calm after anger - escaping urban stress - finding a private retreat - processing grief - reclaiming personal agency Key Concepts personal space environmental degradation psychological resilience sense of belonging Practical Applications - therapeutic nature walks - designing personal outdoor sanctuaries Questions to Reflect On - How does personal connection to a place shape one's emotional health? - What can be done when a cherished natural space is lost? A Different Perspective Some argue that urban environments can also provide restorative experiences through parks and community spaces, suggesting nature's benefits aren't exclusive to wilderness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Enviroment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enviroment/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [It is quiet and peaceful here, the air is good, there are numerous gardens, and in them nightingales sing and spies lurk under the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maxim-gorky/it-is-quiet-and-peaceful-here-the-air-is-good-there-are-numerous/) [Maxim Gorky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maxim-gorky/) > [The most incredible thing is that so much happens outside of the will. You can't will anything. Not even solitude is an act of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bram-van-velde/the-most-incredible-thing-is-that-so-much-happens-outside-of-the-will/) [Bram van Velde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bram-van-velde/) > [But I'm too old to be written about as a young poet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-levine/but-i-m-too-old-to-be-written-about-as-a-young-poet/) [Philip Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-levine/) > [“The Letters to a young poet illustrate perfectly the kindliness, the complexity, and at the same time the impersonality and remoteness of Rilke’s manner…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/the-letters-to-a-young-poet-illustrate-perfectly-the-kindliness-the/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [To practice your scales, so to speak, in order play the symphony, is what you have to do as a young poet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/to-practice-your-scales-so-to-speak-in-order-play-the-symphony-is/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [“Advice to a Young Poet Don’t spend yourself in the small copper coins of complaint and accusation. Don’t answer those in authority, those who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ondra-lysohorsky/advice-to-a-young-poet-don-t-spend-yourself-in-the-small-copper-coins/) Ondra Lysohorsky > [“Today a young poet brought me 75 poems, some of them many pages long, I shall no doubt make an enemy of him again…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/today-a-young-poet-brought-me-75-poems-some-of-them-many-pages-long-i/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [I would keep in mind to a young poet that you are entering into something that is very important, that has always been important…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hirsch/i-would-keep-in-mind-to-a-young-poet-that-you-are-entering-into/) [Edward Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hirsch/) > [I think the coming of spring, the stars overhead, the first snowfall and so on are gifts for a child, a young poet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-think-the-coming-of-spring-the-stars-overhead-the-first-snowfall/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [As a very young poet, I had been brought up on that dogma that politics was bad for poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/as-a-very-young-poet-i-had-been-brought-up-on-that-dogma-that/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [As a young poet, you need corroboration, and that's what publication does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seamus-heaney/as-a-young-poet-you-need-corroboration-and-that-s-what-publication/) [Seamus Heaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seamus-heaney/) > [Bad luck for the young poet would be a rich father, an early marriage, an early success or the ability to do anything well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/bad-luck-for-the-young-poet-would-be-a-rich-father-an-early-marriage/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [When I came back to New York, it was such a joke because I was always referred to as the pure young poet who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-carroll/when-i-came-back-to-new-york-it-was-such-a-joke-because-i-was-always/) [Jim Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-carroll/) > [I think a young poet, or an old poet, for that matter, should try to produce something that pleases himself personally, not only when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/i-think-a-young-poet-or-an-old-poet-for-that-matter-should-try-to/) [Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/) > [A young poet in America should not be advised at the outset to give up all for the Muse-to seclude himself in the country,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-wilson/a-young-poet-in-america-should-not-be-advised-at-the-outset-to-give/) [Edmund Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-wilson/) ## More by Richard Louv > [Children need nature for the healthy development of their senses, and therefore, for learning and creativity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-louv/children-need-nature-for-the-healthy-development-of-their-senses-and/) [Richard Louv](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-louv/) > [As the young spend less of their lives in natural surroundings, their senses narrow, physiologically and psychologically and this reduces the richness of human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-louv/as-the-young-spend-less-of-their-lives-in-natural-surroundings-their/) [Richard Louv](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-louv/) > [A natural environment is far more complex than any playing field.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-louv/a-natural-environment-is-far-more-complex-than-any-playing-field/) [Richard Louv](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-louv/) > [Green exercise improves psychological health.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-louv/green-exercise-improves-psychological-health/) [Richard Louv](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-louv/) > [No other youth group like the Scouts has trained so many future leaders while at the same time being a nature organization with its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-louv/no-other-youth-group-like-the-scouts-has-trained-so-many-future/) [Richard Louv](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-louv/) > [In medieval times, if someone displayed the symptoms we now identify as boredom, that person was thought to be committing something called acedia, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-louv/in-medieval-times-if-someone-displayed-the-symptoms-we-now-identify/) [Richard Louv](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-louv/) > [Rather than accepting the drifting separation of the generations, we might begin to define a more complex and interesting set of life stages and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-louv/rather-than-accepting-the-drifting-separation-of-the-generations-we/) [Richard Louv](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-louv/) > [This seems clear enough: When truly present in nature, we do use all our senses at the same time, which is the optimum state…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-louv/this-seems-clear-enough-when-truly-present-in-nature-we-do-use-all/) [Richard Louv](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-louv/) > [Nature is one of the best antidotes to fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-louv/nature-is-one-of-the-best-antidotes-to-fear/) [Richard Louv](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-louv/) > [Reconnection to the natural world is fundamental to human health, well-being, spirit, and survival.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-louv/reconnection-to-the-natural-world-is-fundamental-to-human-health-well/) [Richard Louv](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-louv/) > [“Most scientists who study human perception no longer assume that we have five senses: taste, touch, smell, sight, and hearing. The current number ranges…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-louv/most-scientists-who-study-human-perception-no-longer-assume-that-we/) [Richard Louv](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-louv/) > [Nature is often overlooked as a healing balm for the emotional hardships in a child's life. You'll likely never see a slick commercial for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-louv/nature-is-often-overlooked-as-a-healing-balm-for-the-emotional/) [Richard Louv](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-louv/) > [In nature, a child finds freedom, fantasy, and privacy: a place distant from the adult world, a separate peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-louv/in-nature-a-child-finds-freedom-fantasy-and-privacy-a-place-distant/) [Richard Louv](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-louv/) > [Something else was different when we were young: our parents were outdoors. I’m not saying they were joining health clubs and things of that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-louv/something-else-was-different-when-we-were-young-our-parents-were/) [Richard Louv](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-louv/) > [This tree house became our galleon, our spaceship, our Fort Apache...Ours was a learning tree. Through it we learned to trust ourselves and our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-louv/this-tree-house-became-our-galleon-our-spaceship-our-fort-apache-ours/) [Richard Louv](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-louv/) [Explore all 127 Richard Louv quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-louv/) ## More Beauty quotes > [We do not want nowadays temples of worship and outward rites and ceremonies. What we really want is an Asram. We want a place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/we-do-not-want-nowadays-temples-of-worship-and-outward-rites-and/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [How could anybody confuse truth with beauty, I thought as I looked at him. Truth came with sunken eyes, bony or scarred, decayed. Its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/how-could-anybody-confuse-truth-with-beauty-i-thought-as-i-looked-at/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [A thing of beauty is a joy for ever;It's loveliness increase;it will never pass into nothingness;but still will keep a bower quiet for us,and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/a-thing-of-beauty-is-a-joy-for-ever-it-s-loveliness-increase-it-will/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [To fathom the power, to witness the beauty, to bathe in the fountain, to swing on the spiral of our divinity, and still be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tool/to-fathom-the-power-to-witness-the-beauty-to-bathe-in-the-fountain-to/) [Tool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tool/) > [The term "black metal" has become a lot looser, or can include a larger range of sounds and extra-musical aesthetics, not just Satan and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-marston/the-term-black-metal-has-become-a-lot-looser-or-can-include-a-larger/) [Colin Marston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-marston/) > [“We've all met people who are beautiful on the outside, however, when they open their mouths to speak, they have nothing of substance to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-c-young/we-ve-all-met-people-who-are-beautiful-on-the-outside-however-when/) [Susan C. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-c-young/) > [There are various orders of beauty, causing men to make fools of themselves in various styles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/there-are-various-orders-of-beauty-causing-men-to-make-fools-of/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [To me, the beauty of a quilt or a dress lies within the stitches and the thought of the person who made them. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie/to-me-the-beauty-of-a-quilt-or-a-dress-lies-within-the-stitches-and/) [Natalie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie/) > [“do not misunderstand person by beauty You really do not know its real or Mask on dirty thoughts”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-zaki-ansari/do-not-misunderstand-person-by-beauty-you-really-do-not-know-its-real/) [Mohammed Zaki Ansari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-zaki-ansari/) > [“I already love in you your beauty, but I am only beginning to love in you that which is eternal and ever precious –…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/i-already-love-in-you-your-beauty-but-i-am-only-beginning-to-love-in/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [The more perfect the sight is the more delightful the beautiful object. The more perfect the appetite, the sweeter the food. The more musical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-baxter/the-more-perfect-the-sight-is-the-more-delightful-the-beautiful/) [Richard Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-baxter/) > [Call her beautiful a million times and she won't believe you. Call her ugly once, and she will never forget it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tumblr/call-her-beautiful-a-million-times-and-she-won-t-believe-you-call-her/) Tumblr > [Time can but make her beauty over again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/time-can-but-make-her-beauty-over-again/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [ The social \[media channel\] isn't about beauty contests and popularity contests. They're a distortion, a caricature of the real thing. It's about trust, connection,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umair-haque/the-social-media-channel-isn-t-about-beauty-contests-and-popularity/) [Umair Haque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umair-haque/) > [“What about you? What do you do?” I needed to ask questions, draw him out. I needed to find out all the information I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-avery-ellison/what-about-you-what-do-you-do-i-needed-to-ask-questions-draw-him-out/) [Kate Avery Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-avery-ellison/) [Browse all 24,662 Beauty quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“She was one of those exceptional children who do still spend time outside, in solitude. In her case nature represented beauty - and refuge. \"It's so peaceful out there and the air smells so good. I mean, it's polluted, but not as much as the city air. For me, it's completely different there,\" she said. \"It's like you're free when you go out there. It's your own time. Sometimes I go there when I'm mad - and then, just with the peacefulness, I'm better. I can come back home happy, and my mom doesn't even know why.\" The she described her special part of the woods. \"I had a place. There was a big waterfall and a creek on one side of it. I'd dug a big hole there, and sometimes I'd take a tent back there, or a blanket, and just lie down in the hole, and look up at the trees and sky. Sometimes I'd fall asleep back there. I just felt free; it was like my place, and I could do what I wanted, with nobody to stop me. I used to go down there almost every day.\" The young poet's face flushed. Her voice thickened. \"And then they just cut the woods down. It was like they cut down part of me.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Richard Louv" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-louv/she-was-one-of-those-exceptional-children-who-do-still-spend-time/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Beauty" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-louv/she-was-one-of-those-exceptional-children-who-do-still-spend-time/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77e/richard-louv-3583_beauty_she-was-one-of-those-exceptional-childre_23844.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77e/richard-louv-3583_beauty_she-was-one-of-those-exceptional-childre_23844.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77e/richard-louv-3583_beauty_she-was-one-of-those-exceptional-childre_23844.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“She was one of those exceptional children who do still spend time outside, in solitude. In her case nature…” — Richard Louv", "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": "Richard Louv", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-louv/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“She was one of those exceptional...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-louv/she-was-one-of-those-exceptional-children-who-do-still-spend-time/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-louv/she-was-one-of-those-exceptional-children-who-do-still-spend-time/#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 } } ] } ```