--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The tree is happy because it is scarcely…" description: "\"The tree is happy because it is scarcely sentient; the hard rock is happier still, it feels nothing: there is no pain as great as being alive, no burde..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/277/rub-n-dar-o-16365_alive_the-tree-is-happy-because-it-is-scarcely_941166.jpg" --- # The tree is happy because it is scarcely sentient; the… ![“The tree is happy because it is scarcely sentient; the hard rock is happier still, it feels nothing: there is no pain as great as being alive, no burden heavier than that of conscious life.” quote by Ruben Dario](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/277/rub-n-dar-o-16365_alive_the-tree-is-happy-because-it-is-scarcely_941166.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/277/rub-n-dar-o-16365_alive_the-tree-is-happy-because-it-is-scarcely_941166.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/277/rub-n-dar-o-16365_alive_the-tree-is-happy-because-it-is-scarcely_941166.jpg) > “The tree is happy because it is scarcely sentient; the hard rock is happier still, it feels nothing: there is no pain as great as being alive, no burden heavier than that of conscious life.” [Ruben Dario](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rub-n-dar-o/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Sentient beings feel pain and burden, while non‑sentient matter exists without suffering, making existence a heavy load. **In simple terms:** Conscious life carries pain; non‑conscious does not. Key Takeaway Recognize the weight of consciousness. Themes existence consciousness pain burden Mood somber reflective Type existential poetic When to use this quote - ethical debates - mental health discussions - spiritual reflections - environmental ethics Key Concepts philosophical existential comparative suffering Questions to Reflect On - How does awareness of suffering shape your choices? - Can we find meaning despite life's burdens? A Different Perspective Non‑sentient entities still impact conscious beings. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) [Burden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/burden/) [Conscious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conscious/) [Feels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feels/) [Happier Feels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happier-feels-1608768/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Happy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happy/) [Happy Scarcely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happy-scarcely-1608770/) [Hard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard/) [Hard rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard-rock/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [No pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/no-pain/) [Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain/) [Rock Happier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rock-happier-1608769/) [Rocks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rocks/) [Stills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stills/) [Tree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tree/) [Tree Happy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tree-happy-477706/) [Trees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trees/) ## Related quotes > [“She was so happy that she scarcely dared to breathe.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-hodgson-burnett/she-was-so-happy-that-she-scarcely-dared-to-breathe/) [Frances Hodgson Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-hodgson-burnett/) > [And the tree was happy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shel-silverstein/and-the-tree-was-happy/) [Shel Silverstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shel-silverstein/) > [“I never did understand why the tree was still happy at the end. The little boy used her until she was nothing but a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allison-rivers/i-never-did-understand-why-the-tree-was-still-happy-at-the-end-the/) [Allison Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allison-rivers/) > [Come, Boy, sit down. Sit down and rest." And the boy did. And the tree was happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shel-silverstein/come-boy-sit-down-sit-down-and-rest-and-the-boy-did-and-the-tree-was/) [Shel Silverstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shel-silverstein/) > [And the boy loved the tree…very much. And the tree was happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shel-silverstein/and-the-boy-loved-the-tree-very-much-and-the-tree-was-happy/) [Shel Silverstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shel-silverstein/) > [Everybody should plant a tree on any happy occasion or birthday and celebrate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sayaji-shinde/everybody-should-plant-a-tree-on-any-happy-occasion-or-birthday-and/) [Sayaji Shinde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sayaji-shinde/) > [One thing people would be surprised about is that although hard rock and heavy metal are without question 90% of what I listen to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-trunk/one-thing-people-would-be-surprised-about-is-that-although-hard-rock/) [Eddie Trunk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-trunk/) > [I like African and avant-garde music, anything that's vaguely interesting. Hard rock I get a bit bored with because it's what I do. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-glover/i-like-african-and-avant-garde-music-anything-that-s-vaguely/) [Roger Glover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-glover/) > [I love so many different types of music - hard rock, bebop, jazz fusion, R&B. And I've loved meeting and painting so many amazing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-max/i-love-so-many-different-types-of-music-hard-rock-bebop-jazz-fusion-r/) [Peter Max](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-max/) > [I'm thinking about learning a few new things - like taking classical guitar lessons - and I'd like to bring what I learn into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mick-mars/i-m-thinking-about-learning-a-few-new-things-like-taking-classical/) [Mick Mars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mick-mars/) > [I like old-school, riff-driven, hard rock music with big hooks!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-breuer/i-like-old-school-riff-driven-hard-rock-music-with-big-hooks/) [Jim Breuer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-breuer/) > [“Jack was too absorbed in his work to hear the bell. He was mesmerized by the challenge of making soft, round shapes of hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-follett/jack-was-too-absorbed-in-his-work-to-hear-the-bell-he-was-mesmerized/) [Ken Follett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-follett/) > [I wanna play hard rock. I wanna play loud drums.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ward/i-wanna-play-hard-rock-i-wanna-play-loud-drums/) [Bill Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ward/) > [Don't be a hard rock when you really are a gem!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauryn-hill/don-t-be-a-hard-rock-when-you-really-are-a-gem/) [Lauryn Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauryn-hill/) > [Hard rock I got into around twelve or thirteen. My uncle introduced me to Scorpions, Great White and everything rock. From there, I expanded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-moody/hard-rock-i-got-into-around-twelve-or-thirteen-my-uncle-introduced-me/) [Ivan Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-moody/) ## More by Ruben Dario > [“Juventud divino tesoro Ya te vas para no volver Quando quiero llorar no lloro Y a veces lloro sin querer”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rub-n-dar-o/juventud-divino-tesoro-ya-te-vas-para-no-volver-quando-quiero-llorar/) [Ruben Dario](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rub-n-dar-o/) > [Sweet as sweetest Grecian honey will my song be when I sing, O Beloved, in the season of the Spring!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rub-n-dar-o/sweet-as-sweetest-grecian-honey-will-my-song-be-when-i-sing-o-beloved/) [Ruben Dario](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rub-n-dar-o/) > [The treacheries of ambition never cease.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rub-n-dar-o/the-treacheries-of-ambition-never-cease/) [Ruben Dario](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rub-n-dar-o/) > [The America of Moctezuma and Atahualpa,the aromatic America of Columbus,Catholic America, Spanish America,the America where noble Cuauhtémoc said: "I am not on a bed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rub-n-dar-o/the-america-of-moctezuma-and-atahualpa-the-aromatic-america-of/) [Ruben Dario](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rub-n-dar-o/) > [“You are an Universe of Universes and your soul a source of songs.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rub-n-dar-o/you-are-an-universe-of-universes-and-your-soul-a-source-of-songs/) [Ruben Dario](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rub-n-dar-o/) > [Pity for him who one day looks uponhis inward sphinx and questions it. He is lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rub-n-dar-o/pity-for-him-who-one-day-looks-uponhis-inward-sphinx-and-questions-it/) [Ruben Dario](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rub-n-dar-o/) > [Poetry will exist as long as there is a problem of life and death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rub-n-dar-o/poetry-will-exist-as-long-as-there-is-a-problem-of-life-and-death/) [Ruben Dario](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rub-n-dar-o/) > [I seek a form that my style cannot discover,a bud of thought that wants to be a rose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rub-n-dar-o/i-seek-a-form-that-my-style-cannot-discover-a-bud-of-thought-that/) [Ruben Dario](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rub-n-dar-o/) > [“Creo que siempre es preferible la neurosis a la imbecilidad.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rub-n-dar-o/creo-que-siempre-es-preferible-la-neurosis-a-la-imbecilidad/) [Rubén Darío](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rub-n-dar-o/) > [“Brother,you who have the light, tell me mine. I am like a blind man. I go without direction and fumble along. I go under…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rub-n-dar-o/brother-you-who-have-the-light-tell-me-mine-i-am-like-a-blind-man-i/) [Rubén Darío](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rub-n-dar-o/) [Explore all 11 Ruben Dario quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rub-n-dar-o/) ## More Alive quotes > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I feel very grateful to be alive and well enough to make music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ant/i-feel-very-grateful-to-be-alive-and-well-enough-to-make-music/) [Adam Ant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-ant/) > [I don't crave applause. I'm not one of those guys who comes alive on stage. I'm much more alive at home, I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/i-don-t-crave-applause-i-m-not-one-of-those-guys-who-comes-alive-on/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [We must master our egoism, and through this mastery, step outside ourselves and educate ourselves in giving. Fasting requires that we rediscover all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/we-must-master-our-egoism-and-through-this-mastery-step-outside/) [Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/) > [I can't say that there are 'things' that make me come alive. There are thoughts that make me come alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/i-can-t-say-that-there-are-things-that-make-me-come-alive-there-are/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [We're like the wicked witch. We promise gingerbread, then eat the little brats alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/we-re-like-the-wicked-witch-we-promise-gingerbread-then-eat-the/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [If Jovan Belcher didn't possess a gun, he and Kasandra Perkins would both be alive today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-costas/if-jovan-belcher-didn-t-possess-a-gun-he-and-kasandra-perkins-would/) [Bob Costas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-costas/) > [Peace is an ongoing process. It begins with the first step and it does not end. We, all of us alive today, are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krieger/peace-is-an-ongoing-process-it-begins-with-the-first-step-and-it-does/) [David Krieger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krieger/) > [I think adoption becomes complicated whenever the biological parents are alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-haven/i-think-adoption-becomes-complicated-whenever-the-biological-parents/) [James Haven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-haven/) > [The pain of love is the pain of being alive. It is a perpetual wound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-duffy/the-pain-of-love-is-the-pain-of-being-alive-it-is-a-perpetual-wound/) [Maureen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-duffy/) > [I have tried to resign myself, and to console myself; and that, I hope, I may have done imperfectly; but what I cannot firmly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-tried-to-resign-myself-and-to-console-myself-and-that-i-hope-i/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [If Melanchthon were alive today, he might not weep because of controversies that surround the Lord's Supper, but he might well sorrow because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-w-lutzer/if-melanchthon-were-alive-today-he-might-not-weep-because-of/) [Erwin W. Lutzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-w-lutzer/) > [If you’re alive, don’t move, if you’re dead, don’t worry about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/if-you-re-alive-don-t-move-if-you-re-dead-don-t-worry-about-it/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [Here Greek and Roman find themselves alive along these crowded shelves; and Shakespeare treads again his stage, and Chaucer paints anew his age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-greenleaf-whittier/here-greek-and-roman-find-themselves-alive-along-these-crowded/) [John Greenleaf Whittier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-greenleaf-whittier/) > [You're alive!" Fezzik cried. The man in black sat immobile, like a ventriloquist's dummy, just his mouth moving. "That is perhaps the most childishly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/you-re-alive-fezzik-cried-the-man-in-black-sat-immobile-like-a/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) [Browse all 7,282 Alive quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The tree is happy because it is scarcely sentient; the hard rock is happier still, it feels nothing: there is no pain as great as being alive, no burden heavier than that of conscious life.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ruben Dario" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rub-n-dar-o/the-tree-is-happy-because-it-is-scarcely-sentient-the-hard-rock-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Alive" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rub-n-dar-o/the-tree-is-happy-because-it-is-scarcely-sentient-the-hard-rock-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/277/rub-n-dar-o-16365_alive_the-tree-is-happy-because-it-is-scarcely_941166.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/277/rub-n-dar-o-16365_alive_the-tree-is-happy-because-it-is-scarcely_941166.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/277/rub-n-dar-o-16365_alive_the-tree-is-happy-because-it-is-scarcely_941166.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The tree is happy because it is scarcely sentient; the hard rock is happier still, it feels nothing: there…” — Ruben Dario", "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": "Ruben Dario", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rub-n-dar-o/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The tree is happy because it...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rub-n-dar-o/the-tree-is-happy-because-it-is-scarcely-sentient-the-hard-rock-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rub-n-dar-o/the-tree-is-happy-because-it-is-scarcely-sentient-the-hard-rock-is/#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 } } ] } ```