--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think it is this that it is this that…" description: "\"“I think it is this that it is this that draws me to the pond on a night in April, bearing witness to puhpowee. Tadpoles and spores, egg and sperm, min..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23b/robin-wall-kimmerer-31517_bearing-witness_i-think-it-is-this-that-it-is-this-that_1453448.jpg" --- # I think it is this that it is this that draws me to the… ![“I think it is this that it is this that draws me to the pond on a night in April, bearing witness to puhpowee. Tadpoles and spores, egg and sperm, mind and yours, mosses and peepers - we are all connected by our common understanding of the calls filling the night at the start of spring. It is the…” quote by Robin Wall Kimmerer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23b/robin-wall-kimmerer-31517_bearing-witness_i-think-it-is-this-that-it-is-this-that_1453448.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23b/robin-wall-kimmerer-31517_bearing-witness_i-think-it-is-this-that-it-is-this-that_1453448.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23b/robin-wall-kimmerer-31517_bearing-witness_i-think-it-is-this-that-it-is-this-that_1453448.jpg) > ““I think it is this that it is this that draws me to the pond on a night in April, bearing witness to puhpowee. Tadpoles and spores, egg and sperm, mind and yours, mosses and peepers - we are all connected by our common understanding of the calls filling the night at the start of spring. It is the wordless voice of longing that resonates within us, the longing to continue, to participate in the sacred life of the world. ”” [Robin Wall Kimmerer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-wall-kimmerer/) ## 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 expresses a deep sense of ecological interdependence, feeling connected to all living things through the quiet, seasonal rhythms of nature. **In simple terms:** Nature links us all through shared cycles. Key Takeaway Listen to nature’s subtle calls. Themes interconnectedness ecology spirituality Mood reflective reverent inspirational Type philosophical poetic environmental When to use this quote - forest walks - spring observations - environmental education - conservation work Key Concepts biophilia systems thinking place-based knowledge Questions to Reflect On - How do you experience connection in everyday life? - What responsibilities arise from feeling linked to ecosystems? A Different Perspective It may romanticize nature, overlooking human impact and conflict. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bearing witness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bearing-witness/) [Draws Pond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/draws-pond-5233142/) [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) [Longing Resonates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/longing-resonates-5233143/) [Nostalgia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nostalgia/) [Pond Night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pond-night-5233140/) [Puhpowee Tadpoles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/puhpowee-tadpoles-5233141/) [Spring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spring/) ## Related quotes > [“As his ears rang and his heart broke for her, he stayed strong against the gale force she let loose. After all, there was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-ward/as-his-ears-rang-and-his-heart-broke-for-her-he-stayed-strong-against/) [J.R. Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-ward/) > [“I had read once, in one of those pre-plague books in the library, that love was bearing witness. That it was the act of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-carey/i-had-read-once-in-one-of-those-pre-plague-books-in-the-library-that/) [Anna Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-carey/) > [The concept of a literature of witness - of bearing witness - has embedded in it the need for action. One must not simply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-alberto-urrea/the-concept-of-a-literature-of-witness-of-bearing-witness-has/) [Luis Alberto Urrea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-alberto-urrea/) > [An Eskimo custom offers an angry person release by walking the emotion out of his or her system in a straight line across the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/an-eskimo-custom-offers-an-angry-person-release-by-walking-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Modern 3D cinema technology works by ensuring your left eye sees one image while your right sees another. But they could, presumably, issue one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-brooker/modern-3d-cinema-technology-works-by-ensuring-your-left-eye-sees-one/) [Charlie Brooker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-brooker/) > [Individuals bearing witness do not change history; only movements that understand their social world can do that. Movements encourage solidarity; the moral individual is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-willis/individuals-bearing-witness-do-not-change-history-only-movements-that/) [Ellen Willis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-willis/) > [We know what boredom is: it is a dull Impatience or a fierce velleity, A champing wish, stalled by our lassitude, To make or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-wilbur/we-know-what-boredom-is-it-is-a-dull-impatience-or-a-fierce-velleity/) [Richard Wilbur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-wilbur/) > [“What is courage?" I ask. "Bearing witness. That is a form of courage.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-stern/what-is-courage-i-ask-bearing-witness-that-is-a-form-of-courage/) [Jessica Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-stern/) > [ “...\[Nature\] ever bearing witness against man that he has deliberately chosen ugliness instead of beauty...” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-morris/nature-ever-bearing-witness-against-man-that-he-has-deliberately/) [William Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-morris/) > [“There are many perks to living for twenty-one centuries, and foremost among them is bearing witness to the rare birth of genius. It invariably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-hearne/there-are-many-perks-to-living-for-twenty-one-centuries-and-foremost/) [Kevin Hearne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-hearne/) > [“The discipline of witness takes seriously the biblical mandate of bearing witness to Jesus by building nonmanipulative relationships with eternity in view.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-d-boa/the-discipline-of-witness-takes-seriously-the-biblical-mandate-of/) [Kenneth D. Boa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-d-boa/) > [Was it the act of giving birth that made you a mother? Did you lose that label when you relinquished your child? If people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/was-it-the-act-of-giving-birth-that-made-you-a-mother-did-you-lose/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [Let me close by bearing witness (and my nine decades on this earth fully qualify me to say this) that the older I get,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-tom-perry/let-me-close-by-bearing-witness-and-my-nine-decades-on-this-earth/) [L. Tom Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-tom-perry/) > [Photography is a weapon against what's wrong out there. It's bearing witness to the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brent-stirton/photography-is-a-weapon-against-what-s-wrong-out-there-it-s-bearing/) [Brent Stirton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brent-stirton/) > [“I sing, not to hear the echo repeat, a shade fainter, my song! I think of light and not of glory! Singing is my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmond-rostand/i-sing-not-to-hear-the-echo-repeat-a-shade-fainter-my-song-i-think-of/) [Edmond Rostand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmond-rostand/) ## More by Robin Wall Kimmerer > [“We can't meaningfully proceed with healing, with restoration, without "re-story-ation".”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-wall-kimmerer/we-can-t-meaningfully-proceed-with-healing-with-restoration-without/) [Robin Wall Kimmerer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-wall-kimmerer/) > [“In a culture of gratitude, everyone knows that gifts will follow the circle of reciprocity and flow back to you again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-wall-kimmerer/in-a-culture-of-gratitude-everyone-knows-that-gifts-will-follow-the/) [Robin Wall Kimmerer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-wall-kimmerer/) > [“The prosperity of the community grows from the flow of relationships, not the accumulation of goods. When the natural world is understood as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-wall-kimmerer/the-prosperity-of-the-community-grows-from-the-flow-of-relationships/) [Robin Wall Kimmerer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-wall-kimmerer/) > [“When we speak of these not as things or natural resources or commodities, but as gifts, our whole relationship to the natural world changes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-wall-kimmerer/when-we-speak-of-these-not-as-things-or-natural-resources-or/) [Robin Wall Kimmerer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-wall-kimmerer/) > [“Infrared satellite imagery, optical telescopes, and the Hubbell space telescope bring vastness within our visual sphere. Electron microscopes let us wander the remote universe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-wall-kimmerer/infrared-satellite-imagery-optical-telescopes-and-the-hubbell-space/) [Robin Wall Kimmerer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-wall-kimmerer/) > [“What is it that brings me here to stand like a rock in this river of sound?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-wall-kimmerer/what-is-it-that-brings-me-here-to-stand-like-a-rock-in-this-river-of/) [Robin Wall Kimmerer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-wall-kimmerer/) > [It's a sign of respect and connection to learn the name of someone else, a sign of disrespect to ignore it. And yet, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-wall-kimmerer/it-s-a-sign-of-respect-and-connection-to-learn-the-name-of-someone/) [Robin Wall Kimmerer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-wall-kimmerer/) > [“If we allow the practice of restoration to become the exclusive domain of science, we will have lost its greatest promise, which is nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-wall-kimmerer/if-we-allow-the-practice-of-restoration-to-become-the-exclusive/) [Robin Wall Kimmerer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-wall-kimmerer/) > [“Just as you can pick out the voice of a loved one in the tumult of a noisy room, or spot your child's smile…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-wall-kimmerer/just-as-you-can-pick-out-the-voice-of-a-loved-one-in-the-tumult-of-a/) [Robin Wall Kimmerer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-wall-kimmerer/) > [What if you were a teacher but had no voice to speak your knowledge? What if you had no language at all and yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-wall-kimmerer/what-if-you-were-a-teacher-but-had-no-voice-to-speak-your-knowledge/) [Robin Wall Kimmerer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-wall-kimmerer/) > [“Between takeoff and landing, we are each in suspended animation, a pause between chapters of our lives. When we stare out the window into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-wall-kimmerer/between-takeoff-and-landing-we-are-each-in-suspended-animation-a/) [Robin Wall Kimmerer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-wall-kimmerer/) > [“How, in our modern world, can we find our way to understand the earth as a gift again, to make our relations with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-wall-kimmerer/how-in-our-modern-world-can-we-find-our-way-to-understand-the-earth/) [Robin Wall Kimmerer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-wall-kimmerer/) > [“In Native ways of knowing, human people are often referred to as "the younger brothers of Creation". We say that humans have the least…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-wall-kimmerer/in-native-ways-of-knowing-human-people-are-often-referred-to-as-the/) [Robin Wall Kimmerer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-wall-kimmerer/) > [“Action on behalf of life transforms. Because the relationship between self and the world is reciprocal, it is not a question of first getting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-wall-kimmerer/action-on-behalf-of-life-transforms-because-the-relationship-between/) [Robin Wall Kimmerer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-wall-kimmerer/) > [“Always value people over things" "Without farmers you'd be naked, hungry, and sober”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-wall-kimmerer/always-value-people-over-things-without-farmers-you-d-be-naked-hungry/) [Robin Wall Kimmerer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-wall-kimmerer/) [Explore all 16 Robin Wall Kimmerer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-wall-kimmerer/) ## More Bearing witness quotes > [“As his ears rang and his heart broke for her, he stayed strong against the gale force she let loose. After all, there was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-ward/as-his-ears-rang-and-his-heart-broke-for-her-he-stayed-strong-against/) [J.R. Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-ward/) > [Photography is a weapon against what's wrong out there. It's bearing witness to the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brent-stirton/photography-is-a-weapon-against-what-s-wrong-out-there-it-s-bearing/) [Brent Stirton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brent-stirton/) > [Let me close by bearing witness (and my nine decades on this earth fully qualify me to say this) that the older I get,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-tom-perry/let-me-close-by-bearing-witness-and-my-nine-decades-on-this-earth/) [L. Tom Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-tom-perry/) > [Was it the act of giving birth that made you a mother? Did you lose that label when you relinquished your child? If people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/was-it-the-act-of-giving-birth-that-made-you-a-mother-did-you-lose/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“The discipline of witness takes seriously the biblical mandate of bearing witness to Jesus by building nonmanipulative relationships with eternity in view.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-d-boa/the-discipline-of-witness-takes-seriously-the-biblical-mandate-of/) [Kenneth D. Boa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-d-boa/) > [“There are many perks to living for twenty-one centuries, and foremost among them is bearing witness to the rare birth of genius. It invariably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-hearne/there-are-many-perks-to-living-for-twenty-one-centuries-and-foremost/) [Kevin Hearne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-hearne/) > [ “...\[Nature\] ever bearing witness against man that he has deliberately chosen ugliness instead of beauty...” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-morris/nature-ever-bearing-witness-against-man-that-he-has-deliberately/) [William Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-morris/) > [“What is courage?" I ask. "Bearing witness. That is a form of courage.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-stern/what-is-courage-i-ask-bearing-witness-that-is-a-form-of-courage/) [Jessica Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-stern/) > [We know what boredom is: it is a dull Impatience or a fierce velleity, A champing wish, stalled by our lassitude, To make or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-wilbur/we-know-what-boredom-is-it-is-a-dull-impatience-or-a-fierce-velleity/) [Richard Wilbur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-wilbur/) > [Individuals bearing witness do not change history; only movements that understand their social world can do that. Movements encourage solidarity; the moral individual is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-willis/individuals-bearing-witness-do-not-change-history-only-movements-that/) [Ellen Willis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-willis/) > [“Modern 3D cinema technology works by ensuring your left eye sees one image while your right sees another. But they could, presumably, issue one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-brooker/modern-3d-cinema-technology-works-by-ensuring-your-left-eye-sees-one/) [Charlie Brooker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-brooker/) > [An Eskimo custom offers an angry person release by walking the emotion out of his or her system in a straight line across the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/an-eskimo-custom-offers-an-angry-person-release-by-walking-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The concept of a literature of witness - of bearing witness - has embedded in it the need for action. One must not simply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-alberto-urrea/the-concept-of-a-literature-of-witness-of-bearing-witness-has/) [Luis Alberto Urrea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-alberto-urrea/) > [“I had read once, in one of those pre-plague books in the library, that love was bearing witness. That it was the act of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-carey/i-had-read-once-in-one-of-those-pre-plague-books-in-the-library-that/) [Anna Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-carey/) > [“I sing, not to hear the echo repeat, a shade fainter, my song! I think of light and not of glory! Singing is my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmond-rostand/i-sing-not-to-hear-the-echo-repeat-a-shade-fainter-my-song-i-think-of/) [Edmond Rostand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmond-rostand/) [Browse all 74 Bearing witness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bearing-witness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I think it is this that it is this that draws me to the pond on a night in April, bearing witness to puhpowee. Tadpoles and spores, egg and sperm, mind and yours, mosses and peepers - we are all connected by our common understanding of the calls filling the night at the start of spring. 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