--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I held a blue flower in my hand, probably…" description: "\"I held a blue flower in my hand, probably a wild aster, wondering what its name was, and then thought that human names for natural things are superfluo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d7b/sally-carrighar-68668_asters_i-held-a-blue-flower-in-my-hand-probably_2082155.jpg" --- # I held a blue flower in my hand, probably a wild aster… ![“I held a blue flower in my hand, probably a wild aster, wondering what its name was, and then thought that human names for natural things are superfluous. Nature herself does not name them. The important thing is to know this flower, look at its color until the blends becomes as real as a keynote…” quote by Sally Carrighar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d7b/sally-carrighar-68668_asters_i-held-a-blue-flower-in-my-hand-probably_2082155.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d7b/sally-carrighar-68668_asters_i-held-a-blue-flower-in-my-hand-probably_2082155.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d7b/sally-carrighar-68668_asters_i-held-a-blue-flower-in-my-hand-probably_2082155.jpg) > “I held a blue flower in my hand, probably a wild aster, wondering what its name was, and then thought that human names for natural things are superfluous. Nature herself does not name them. The important thing is to know this flower, look at its color until the blends becomes as real as a keynote of music. Look at the exquisite yellow flowerettes at the center, become very small with them. Be the flower, be the trees, the blowing grasses. Fly with the birds, jump with a squirrel!” Sally Carrighar ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage reflects on how human labels are unnecessary for appreciating nature; true understanding comes from sensory experience and becoming one with the natural world. **In simple terms:** Names are unnecessary; experience matters. Key Takeaway Observe and merge with nature. Themes nature mindfulness connection beauty Mood tranquil reverent Type poetic reflective When to use this quote - walking in a forest - birdwatching - gardening - meditative art - wildlife photography Key Concepts sensory perception ecology embodiment Questions to Reflect On - How can you experience nature without labeling it? - What does “becoming the flower” mean to you? A Different Perspective Human language can limit perception, causing us to miss subtle details. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Asters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asters/) [Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bird/) [Blue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blue/) [Color](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/color/) [Flower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flower/) [Gardening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gardening/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Important things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/important-things/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Squirrels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/squirrels/) [Tree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tree/) [Wilderness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wilderness/) [Wonder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wonder/) [Yellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/yellow/) [Yellow flower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/yellow-flower/) ## Related quotes > [human names for natural things are superfluous. Nature herself does not name them. The important thing is to know this flower, look at its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-carrighar/human-names-for-natural-things-are-superfluous-nature-herself-does/) Sally Carrighar > [“A blue flower grew from a chink in a wall of ice, and filled the air with sweetness”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin/a-blue-flower-grew-from-a-chink-in-a-wall-of-ice-and-filled-the-air/) [George R.R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin/) > [Blue thou art, intensely blue; Flower, whence came thy dazzling hue?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-montgomery/blue-thou-art-intensely-blue-flower-whence-came-thy-dazzling-hue/) [James Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-montgomery/) > [“There's a French saying, ‘Où le Dieu a vous semé, il faut savoir fleurir.’ Let's see, ‘Wherever God has planted you, you must know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-furst/there-s-a-french-saying-o-le-dieu-a-vous-sem-il-faut-savoir-fleurir/) [Alan Furst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-furst/) > [“I know a flower that grows in the valley, none knows it but I. It has purple leaves, and a star in its heart,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/i-know-a-flower-that-grows-in-the-valley-none-knows-it-but-i-it-has/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Whether the flower or the color is the focus I do not know. I do know the flower is painted large to convey my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgia-o-keeffe/whether-the-flower-or-the-color-is-the-focus-i-do-not-know-i-do-know/) [Georgia O'Keeffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgia-o-keeffe/) > [Wherever God has planted you, you must know how to flower - translated from a French saying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-furst/wherever-god-has-planted-you-you-must-know-how-to-flower-translated/) [Alan Furst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-furst/) > [“Supposing I know of a flower that is absolutely unique, that is nowhere to be found except on my planet, and any minute that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/supposing-i-know-of-a-flower-that-is-absolutely-unique-that-is/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [You know–my flower, I am responsible for her. She doesn’t even have four thorns to protect herself from harm.’ (Zarek) Why do you love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/you-know-my-flower-i-am-responsible-for-her-she-doesn-t-even-have/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [When Jo's conservative sister Meg says she must turn up her hair now that she is a "young lady," Jo shouts, "I'm not! and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/when-jo-s-conservative-sister-meg-says-she-must-turn-up-her-hair-now/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [My heart is a garden tired with autumn, Heaped with bending asters and dahlias heavy and dark, In the hazy sunshine, the garden remembers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-teasdale/my-heart-is-a-garden-tired-with-autumn-heaped-with-bending-asters-and/) [Sara Teasdale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-teasdale/) > [Wrapped in his sad-colored cloak, the Day, like a Puritan, standeth Stern in the joyless fields, rebuking the lingering color,-- Dying hectic of leaves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bayard-taylor/wrapped-in-his-sad-colored-cloak-the-day-like-a-puritan-standeth/) [Bayard Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bayard-taylor/) > [My life's long radiant Summer halts at last, And lo! beside my path way I behold Pursuing Autumn glide: nor frost nor cold Has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-wheeler-wilcox/my-life-s-long-radiant-summer-halts-at-last-and-lo-beside-my-path-way/) [Ella Wheeler Wilcox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-wheeler-wilcox/) > [I end not far from my going forth By picking the faded blue Of the last remaining aster flower To carry again to you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/i-end-not-far-from-my-going-forth-by-picking-the-faded-blue-of-the/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) > [The scarlet of the maples can shake me like a cry Of bugles going by. And my lonely spirit thrills To see the frosty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bliss-carman/the-scarlet-of-the-maples-can-shake-me-like-a-cry-of-bugles-going-by/) [Bliss Carman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bliss-carman/) ## More by Sally Carrighar > [There were too many lemmings - that was the core of their difficulty. None wanted solitude, but a crowd of this size was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-carrighar/there-were-too-many-lemmings-that-was-the-core-of-their-difficulty/) Sally Carrighar > [During the last century a seven-year-old boy, Harry Service, was lost from his family's home in Manitoba and lived for two weeks with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-carrighar/during-the-last-century-a-seven-year-old-boy-harry-service-was-lost/) Sally Carrighar > [human names for natural things are superfluous. Nature herself does not name them. The important thing is to know this flower, look at its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-carrighar/human-names-for-natural-things-are-superfluous-nature-herself-does/) Sally Carrighar Explore all 4 Sally Carrighar quotes ## More Asters quotes > [The scarlet of the maples can shake me like a cry Of bugles going by. And my lonely spirit thrills To see the frosty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bliss-carman/the-scarlet-of-the-maples-can-shake-me-like-a-cry-of-bugles-going-by/) [Bliss Carman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bliss-carman/) > [I end not far from my going forth By picking the faded blue Of the last remaining aster flower To carry again to you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/i-end-not-far-from-my-going-forth-by-picking-the-faded-blue-of-the/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) > [My life's long radiant Summer halts at last, And lo! beside my path way I behold Pursuing Autumn glide: nor frost nor cold Has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-wheeler-wilcox/my-life-s-long-radiant-summer-halts-at-last-and-lo-beside-my-path-way/) [Ella Wheeler Wilcox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-wheeler-wilcox/) > [Wrapped in his sad-colored cloak, the Day, like a Puritan, standeth Stern in the joyless fields, rebuking the lingering color,-- Dying hectic of leaves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bayard-taylor/wrapped-in-his-sad-colored-cloak-the-day-like-a-puritan-standeth/) [Bayard Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bayard-taylor/) > [My heart is a garden tired with autumn, Heaped with bending asters and dahlias heavy and dark, In the hazy sunshine, the garden remembers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-teasdale/my-heart-is-a-garden-tired-with-autumn-heaped-with-bending-asters-and/) [Sara Teasdale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-teasdale/) > [When Jo's conservative sister Meg says she must turn up her hair now that she is a "young lady," Jo shouts, "I'm not! and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/when-jo-s-conservative-sister-meg-says-she-must-turn-up-her-hair-now/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [The aster greets us as we pass With her faint smile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-helen-whitman/the-aster-greets-us-as-we-pass-with-her-faint-smile/) Sarah Helen Whitman > [The word "dis-aster," in fact, means "bad star."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-franklin/the-word-dis-aster-in-fact-means-bad-star/) Kenneth Franklin > [Along the river's summer walk, The withered tufts of asters nod; And trembles on its arid stalk the hoar plum of the golden-rod.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-greenleaf-whittier/along-the-river-s-summer-walk-the-withered-tufts-of-asters-nod-and/) [John Greenleaf Whittier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-greenleaf-whittier/) > [The aster has not wasted spring and summer because it has not blossomed. It has been all the time preparing for what is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/the-aster-has-not-wasted-spring-and-summer-because-it-has-not/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [The windflower and the violet, they perished long ago, And the brier-rose and the orchis died amid the summer glow; But on the hills…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-c-bryant/the-windflower-and-the-violet-they-perished-long-ago-and-the-brier/) [William C. Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-c-bryant/) > [In the evening, I walked alone down to the Lake by the side of Crow Park after sunset and saw the solemn coloring of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-gray/in-the-evening-i-walked-alone-down-to-the-lake-by-the-side-of-crow/) [Thomas Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-gray/) > [I wish, and I wish that the spring would go faster, Nor long summer bide so late; And I could grow on like the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-ingelow/i-wish-and-i-wish-that-the-spring-would-go-faster-nor-long-summer/) [Jean Ingelow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-ingelow/) > [Leonard Aster thanked Fighting Prawn and the Mollusk tribe for their hospitality. “You mean,” said Fighting Prawn, “for not killing you?” “Yes,” said Leonard.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/leonard-aster-thanked-fighting-prawn-and-the-mollusk-tribe-for-their/) [Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/) > [The lands are lit with all the autumn blaze of golden-rod, and everywhere the purple asters nod and bend and wave and flit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-hunt/the-lands-are-lit-with-all-the-autumn-blaze-of-golden-rod-and/) [Helen Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-hunt/) [Browse all 18 Asters quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asters/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I held a blue flower in my hand, probably a wild aster, wondering what its name was, and then thought that human names for natural things are superfluous. Nature herself does not name them. The important thing is to know this flower, look at its color until the blends becomes as real as a keynote of music. Look at the exquisite yellow flowerettes at the center, become very small with them. Be the flower, be the trees, the blowing grasses. Fly with the birds, jump with a squirrel!", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sally Carrighar" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-carrighar/i-held-a-blue-flower-in-my-hand-probably-a-wild-aster-wondering-what/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Asters" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-carrighar/i-held-a-blue-flower-in-my-hand-probably-a-wild-aster-wondering-what/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d7b/sally-carrighar-68668_asters_i-held-a-blue-flower-in-my-hand-probably_2082155.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d7b/sally-carrighar-68668_asters_i-held-a-blue-flower-in-my-hand-probably_2082155.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d7b/sally-carrighar-68668_asters_i-held-a-blue-flower-in-my-hand-probably_2082155.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I held a blue flower in my hand, probably a wild aster, wondering what its name was, and then thought that…” — Sally Carrighar", "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": "Sally Carrighar", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-carrighar/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I held a blue flower in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-carrighar/i-held-a-blue-flower-in-my-hand-probably-a-wild-aster-wondering-what/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-carrighar/i-held-a-blue-flower-in-my-hand-probably-a-wild-aster-wondering-what/#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 } } ] } ```