---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I did however used to think, you know, in…"
description: "\"I did however used to think, you know, in the woods walking, and as a kid playing the the woods, that there was a kind of immanence there - that woods,..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c8/robert-creeley-13644_awe_i-did-however-used-to-think-you-know-in_1815000.jpg"
---

#  I did however used to think, you know, in the woods…

![“I did however used to think, you know, in the woods walking, and as a kid playing the the woods, that there was a kind of immanence there - that woods, a places of that order, had a sense, a kind of presence, that you could feel; that there was something peculiarly, physically present, a feeling…” quote by Robert Creeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c8/robert-creeley-13644_awe_i-did-however-used-to-think-you-know-in_1815000.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c8/robert-creeley-13644_awe_i-did-however-used-to-think-you-know-in_1815000.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c8/robert-creeley-13644_awe_i-did-however-used-to-think-you-know-in_1815000.jpg)

> “I did however used to think, you know, in the woods walking, and as a kid playing the the woods, that there was a kind of immanence there - that woods, a places of that order, had a sense, a kind of presence, that you could feel; that there was something peculiarly, physically present, a feeling of place almost conscious ... like God. It evoked that.”

[Robert Creeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-creeley/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The speaker perceives a deep, almost divine presence in nature, feeling the woods as a living, conscious entity.

**In simple terms:** Nature feels alive and sacred.

Key Takeaway

Notice and honor the subtle presence of places.

Themes

nature spirituality presence childhood perception

Mood

contemplative reverent

Type

poetic reflective

When to use this quote

- hiking
- forest meditation
- creative writing
- environmental education

Key Concepts

immanence phenomenology aesthetic experience

Questions to Reflect On

- How does your environment influence your sense of the sacred?
- Can you find similar presence in urban settings?

A Different Perspective

The feeling may be subjective and not universally shared.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Awe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/awe/) [Conscious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conscious/) [Feeling Place](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feeling-place-752987/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Feels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feels/) [Immanence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/immanence-89363/) [Immanence Woods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/immanence-woods-2147153/) [Kids](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kids/) [Kids playing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kids-playing/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [Place Conscious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/place-conscious-2147152/) [Presence Feel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/presence-feel-1067307/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Spirit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirit/) [Spirituality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirituality/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Used](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/used/) [Walking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/walking/) [Woods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/woods/)

## Related quotes

> [“The symmetries of immanence are cruel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-steiner/the-symmetries-of-immanence-are-cruel/)

[George Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-steiner/)

> [What now does the divine immanence mean in direct Christian experience? It means simply that God is here. Wherever we are, God is here.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/what-now-does-the-divine-immanence-mean-in-direct-christian/)

[Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/)

> [“Insofar as the intervention of grace constitutes the core of religious experience, the constant aim of every religious movement ought to be a reduction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-miller/insofar-as-the-intervention-of-grace-constitutes-the-core-of/)

[Adam Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-miller/)

> [“If not immanence, the soul's bright anchor--blood passed from one to the other--what knowledge haunts each body, what history, what phantom ache? One man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-trethewey/if-not-immanence-the-soul-s-bright-anchor-blood-passed-from-one-to/)

[Natasha Trethewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-trethewey/)

> [Such an emphasis on the immanence of God as Creator in, with, and under the natural processes of the world unveiled by the sciences…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-peacocke/such-an-emphasis-on-the-immanence-of-god-as-creator-in-with-and-under/)

[Arthur Peacocke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-peacocke/)

> [“Transcendence is when God exists outside space and time while immanence is when He is present in time and space. Travel between them and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-nyarangi-akoya/transcendence-is-when-god-exists-outside-space-and-time-while/)

[JOEL NYARANGI AKOYA](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-nyarangi-akoya/)

> [“People have seen that I intend to sweep away everything we have been taught to consider - without question - as grace and beauty;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-dubuffet/people-have-seen-that-i-intend-to-sweep-away-everything-we-have-been/)

[Jean Dubuffet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-dubuffet/)

> [“There is no sphere of immanence, no realm in which my consciousness is fully at home and secure against all risk of error.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/there-is-no-sphere-of-immanence-no-realm-in-which-my-consciousness-is/)

[Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/)

> [“I have been blessed by those I cannot see, but whose presence I feel. I know that I am not alone and hope that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-barbara-apollon/i-have-been-blessed-by-those-i-cannot-see-but-whose-presence-i-feel-i/)

[Susan Barbara Apollon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-barbara-apollon/)

> [“His presence made me feel self-concious: of my appearance, of the way I was sitting, of my movements and gestures...It was the behavior of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-steinbach/his-presence-made-me-feel-self-concious-of-my-appearance-of-the-way-i/)

[Alice Steinbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-steinbach/)

> [“There never was a moment in my life," she said, "when I felt so in the Presence, as I do now. I feel as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-stratton-porter/there-never-was-a-moment-in-my-life-she-said-when-i-felt-so-in-the/)

[Gene Stratton-Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-stratton-porter/)

> [In the stillness of your presence, you can feel your own formless and timeless reality as the unmanifested life that animates your physical form.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/in-the-stillness-of-your-presence-you-can-feel-your-own-formless-and/)

[Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/)

> [We know that an object that is not consciously noticed at the time of a first visit can, by its absence during subsequent visits,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-chtcheglov/we-know-that-an-object-that-is-not-consciously-noticed-at-the-time-of/)

[Ivan Chtcheglov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-chtcheglov/)

> [If after having been exposed to someone's presence you feel as if you've lost a quart of plasma, avoid that presence. You need it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/if-after-having-been-exposed-to-someone-s-presence-you-feel-as-if-you/)

[William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/)

> [Presence is a result of confidence. Presence... when we see it we feel it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-maxwell/presence-is-a-result-of-confidence-presence-when-we-see-it-we-feel-it/)

[John C. Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-maxwell/)

## More by Robert Creeley

> [I will go to the garden. I will be a romantic. I will sell myself in hell, in heaven also I will be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-creeley/i-will-go-to-the-garden-i-will-be-a-romantic-i-will-sell-myself-in/)

[Robert Creeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-creeley/)

> [God give you pardon from gratitude and other mild forms of servitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-creeley/god-give-you-pardon-from-gratitude-and-other-mild-forms-of-servitude/)

[Robert Creeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-creeley/)

> [The Lady has always moved to the next town and you stumble on after Her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-creeley/the-lady-has-always-moved-to-the-next-town-and-you-stumble-on-after/)

[Robert Creeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-creeley/)

> [Moon, moon, when you leave me alone all the darkness is an utter blackness, a pit of fear, a stench, hands unreasonable never to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-creeley/moon-moon-when-you-leave-me-alone-all-the-darkness-is-an-utter/)

[Robert Creeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-creeley/)

> [All of which was OK, as that proved then, I certainly wouldn't contradict it as a necessary sense of things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-creeley/all-of-which-was-ok-as-that-proved-then-i-certainly-wouldn-t/)

[Robert Creeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-creeley/)

> [My love's manners in bed are not to be discussed by me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-creeley/my-love-s-manners-in-bed-are-not-to-be-discussed-by-me/)

[Robert Creeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-creeley/)

> [That poetry survived in its formal agencies finally, and that prose survived to get something said.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-creeley/that-poetry-survived-in-its-formal-agencies-finally-and-that-prose/)

[Robert Creeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-creeley/)

> [He lives out in Orchard Park. I mean, to be able to sit on the bench so patiently, for whatever part, and to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-creeley/he-lives-out-in-orchard-park-i-mean-to-be-able-to-sit-on-the-bench-so/)

[Robert Creeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-creeley/)

> [“Thought is a process of work, joy is an issue of work”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-creeley/thought-is-a-process-of-work-joy-is-an-issue-of-work/)

[Robert Creeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-creeley/)

> [Comes the time when it's later and onto your table the headwaiter puts the bill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-creeley/comes-the-time-when-it-s-later-and-onto-your-table-the-headwaiter/)

[Robert Creeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-creeley/)

> [It's the classic story form. All staying equal, or proving equal, or being equal, this will all continue, and the next time around, we'll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-creeley/it-s-the-classic-story-form-all-staying-equal-or-proving-equal-or/)

[Robert Creeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-creeley/)

> [It is hard going to the door cut so small in the wall where the vision which echoes loneliness brings a scent of wild…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-creeley/it-is-hard-going-to-the-door-cut-so-small-in-the-wall-where-the/)

[Robert Creeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-creeley/)

> [For love - I would split open your head and put a candle in behind the eyes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-creeley/for-love-i-would-split-open-your-head-and-put-a-candle-in-behind-the/)

[Robert Creeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-creeley/)

> [The awful thing, as a kid reading, was that you came to the end of the story, and that was it. I mean, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-creeley/the-awful-thing-as-a-kid-reading-was-that-you-came-to-the-end-of-the/)

[Robert Creeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-creeley/)

> [I don’t think any man writing can worry about what the act of writing costs him, even though at times he is very aware…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-creeley/i-don-t-think-any-man-writing-can-worry-about-what-the-act-of-writing/)

[Robert Creeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-creeley/)

[Explore all 49 Robert Creeley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-creeley/)

## More Awe quotes

> [Because I've never had any higher education of any sort, I've never held in awe those who have had it or have a sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-corbyn/because-i-ve-never-had-any-higher-education-of-any-sort-i-ve-never/)

[Jeremy Corbyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-corbyn/)

> [Of course the Dharma-body of the Buddha was the hedge at the bottom of the garden. At the same time, and no less obviously,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/of-course-the-dharma-body-of-the-buddha-was-the-hedge-at-the-bottom/)

[Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/)

> [When I look at the human brain I'm still in awe of it. Every single time you lift off the bone and open the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-carson/when-i-look-at-the-human-brain-i-m-still-in-awe-of-it-every-single/)

[Benjamin Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-carson/)

> [“I know you deserve better than me. You think I don’t know that? But if there was any woman made for me … it’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-mcguire/i-know-you-deserve-better-than-me-you-think-i-don-t-know-that-but-if/)

[Jamie McGuire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-mcguire/)

> [There are certain scenes that would awe an atheist into belief without the help of any other argument.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-gray/there-are-certain-scenes-that-would-awe-an-atheist-into-belief/)

[Thomas Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-gray/)

> [As we contemplate with reverence and awe how our Savior embraces us, comforts us, and heals us, let us commit to become His hands,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dieter-f-uchtdorf/as-we-contemplate-with-reverence-and-awe-how-our-savior-embraces-us/)

[Dieter F. Uchtdorf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dieter-f-uchtdorf/)

> [My journey deep into coma, outside this lowly physical realm and into the loftiest dwelling place of the almighty Creator, revealed the indescribably immense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eben-alexander/my-journey-deep-into-coma-outside-this-lowly-physical-realm-and-into/)

[Eben Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eben-alexander/)

> [Awe combined with intimacy is the essence of Christian worship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/awe-combined-with-intimacy-is-the-essence-of-christian-worship/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“Everything we perceive to be solid and static is made up of almost entirely empty space.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-p-kauffman/everything-we-perceive-to-be-solid-and-static-is-made-up-of-almost/)

[Joseph P. Kauffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-p-kauffman/)

> [“Oftentimes we call Life bitter names, but only when we ourselves are bitter and dark. And we deem her empty and unprofitable, but only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kahlil-gibran/oftentimes-we-call-life-bitter-names-but-only-when-we-ourselves-are/)

[Kahlil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kahlil-gibran/)

> [The laws of nature are the skeleton of the universe. They support it, give it shape, tie it together. Taken as a whole, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-trefil/the-laws-of-nature-are-the-skeleton-of-the-universe-they-support-it/)

[James Trefil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-trefil/)

> [When you look at yourself and feel dissatisfaction about any part of you, you will continue to attract feelings of dissatisfaction, because the law…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhonda-byrne/when-you-look-at-yourself-and-feel-dissatisfaction-about-any-part-of/)

[Rhonda Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhonda-byrne/)

> [“What can we make of the inexpressible joy of children? It is a kind of gratitude, I think—the gratitude of the ten-year-old who wakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/what-can-we-make-of-the-inexpressible-joy-of-children-it-is-a-kind-of/)

[Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/)

> [Sometimes not seeing things can be a blessing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-strindberg/sometimes-not-seeing-things-can-be-a-blessing/)

[August Strindberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-strindberg/)

> [I'm always in awe at how fast television is and how quickly you're called upon to be 100 percent invested in a character with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/latanya-richardson/i-m-always-in-awe-at-how-fast-television-is-and-how-quickly-you-re/)

[LaTanya Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/latanya-richardson/)

[Browse all 1,119 Awe quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/awe/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "I did however used to think, you know, in the woods walking, and as a kid playing the the woods, that there was a kind of immanence there - that woods, a places of that order, had a sense, a kind of presence, that you could feel; that there was something peculiarly, physically present, a feeling of place almost conscious ... like God. It evoked that.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Robert Creeley"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-creeley/i-did-however-used-to-think-you-know-in-the-woods-walking-and-as-a/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Awe"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-creeley/i-did-however-used-to-think-you-know-in-the-woods-walking-and-as-a/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c8/robert-creeley-13644_awe_i-did-however-used-to-think-you-know-in_1815000.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c8/robert-creeley-13644_awe_i-did-however-used-to-think-you-know-in_1815000.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c8/robert-creeley-13644_awe_i-did-however-used-to-think-you-know-in_1815000.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I did however used to think, you know, in the woods walking, and as a kid playing the the woods, that there…” — Robert Creeley",
                "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": "Robert Creeley",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-creeley/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "I did however used to think,...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-creeley/i-did-however-used-to-think-you-know-in-the-woods-walking-and-as-a/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-creeley/i-did-however-used-to-think-you-know-in-the-woods-walking-and-as-a/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
