---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Keep close to Nature's heart, yourself…"
description: "\"“Keep close to Nature's heart, yourself; and break clear away, once in a while, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit cle..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/483/samuel-hall-young-275885_nature_keep-close-to-nature-s-heart-yourself-an_3029917.jpg"
---

#  Keep close to Nature's heart, yourself; and break clear…

![“Keep close to Nature's heart, yourself; and break clear away, once in a while, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean... &#91;John Muir to Samuel Hall Young&#93;” quote by Samuel Hall Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/483/samuel-hall-young-275885_nature_keep-close-to-nature-s-heart-yourself-an_3029917.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/483/samuel-hall-young-275885_nature_keep-close-to-nature-s-heart-yourself-an_3029917.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/483/samuel-hall-young-275885_nature_keep-close-to-nature-s-heart-yourself-an_3029917.jpg)

> ““Keep close to Nature's heart, yourself; and break clear away, once in a while, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean... \[John Muir to Samuel Hall Young\]””

Samuel Hall Young

## About This Quote

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

Nature restores the spirit; regular immersion in wilderness and physical challenge.

**In simple terms:** Spending time in nature heals.

Key Takeaway

Prioritize regular nature retreats.

Themes

nature health spirituality

Mood

reflective inspirational

Type

nature:1 john muir:1 climb mountain:1 nature heart:1 spend week:1 muir samuel:1

When to use this quote

- hiking
- camping
- forest walks

Key Concepts

environment mindfulness solitude

Questions to Reflect On

- How can city residents access similar benefits?

A Different Perspective

Potential impracticality for urban dwellers.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/)

## Related quotes

> [Keep close to Nature's heart... and break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/keep-close-to-nature-s-heart-and-break-clear-away-once-in-awhile-and/)

[John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/)

> [Frightened of change? But what can exist without it? What's closer to nature's heart? Can you take a hot bath and leave the firewood…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/frightened-of-change-but-what-can-exist-without-it-what-s-closer-to/)

[Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/)

> [The true nature of a heart is seen in its response to the unattractive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/the-true-nature-of-a-heart-is-seen-in-its-response-to-the-unattractive/)

[Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/)

> [Is not the core of nature in the heart of man?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/is-not-the-core-of-nature-in-the-heart-of-man/)

[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/)

> [All Nature's wildness tells the same story: the shocks and outbursts of earthquakes, volcanoes, geysers, roaring, thundering waves and floods, the silent uprush of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/all-nature-s-wildness-tells-the-same-story-the-shocks-and-outbursts/)

[John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/)

> [But on and up, where Nature's heart Beats strong amid the hills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-monckton-milnes-1st-baron-houghton/but-on-and-up-where-nature-s-heart-beats-strong-amid-the-hills/)

[Richard Monckton Milnes, 1st Baron Houghton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-monckton-milnes-1st-baron-houghton/)

> [“Nature's heart beats strong amid the hills.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-monckton-milnes/nature-s-heart-beats-strong-amid-the-hills/)

Richard Monckton Milnes

> [I began working with the John Muir Institute and then started helping found Friends of the Earth organizations here and there in other countries.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-r-brower/i-began-working-with-the-john-muir-institute-and-then-started-helping/)

[David R. Brower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-r-brower/)

> [I would say Gary Snyder, who is from my part of the world as a poet and environmental thinker, will be read just as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/i-would-say-gary-snyder-who-is-from-my-part-of-the-world-as-a-poet/)

[Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/)

> [“When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world.” —John Muir”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-oppenlander/when-one-tugs-at-a-single-thing-in-nature-he-finds-it-attached-to-the-2/)

Richard Oppenlander

> [“Now, wilderness can be seen as a useful fiction, a fiction constructed by John Muir and his heirs and deployed to keep places from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/now-wilderness-can-be-seen-as-a-useful-fiction-a-fiction-constructed/)

[Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/)

> [“A few minutes ago every tree was excited, bowing to the roaring storm, waving, swirling, tossing their branches in glorious enthusiasm like worship. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/a-few-minutes-ago-every-tree-was-excited-bowing-to-the-roaring-storm-2/)

[John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/)

> [ In that year \[1865\] John Muir offered to buy from his brother ... a sanctuary for the wildflowers that had gladdened his youth. His… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldo-leopold/in-that-year-1865-john-muir-offered-to-buy-from-his-brother-a/)

[Aldo Leopold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldo-leopold/)

> [John Muir, Earth-planet, Universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/john-muir-earth-planet-universe/)

[John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/)

> [ “John Muir, Earth — planet, Universe \[ Muir's home address, as inscribed on the inside front cover of his first field journal \]” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/john-muir-earth-planet-universe-muir-s-home-address-as-inscribed-on/)

[John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/)

## More Nature quotes

> [It is indeed a surprising and fortunate fact that nature can be expressed by relatively low-order mathematical functions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-carnap/it-is-indeed-a-surprising-and-fortunate-fact-that-nature-can-be/)

[Rudolf Carnap](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-carnap/)

> [Remember that your natural state is joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/remember-that-your-natural-state-is-joy/)

[Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/)

> [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/)

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

> [Put on my J's and dance the whole night away Im naughty by nature like Im hip-hop hooray With my hands in the sky,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/put-on-my-j-s-and-dance-the-whole-night-away-im-naughty-by-nature/)

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

> [Borrow trouble for yourself, if that's your nature, but don't lend it to your neighbours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/borrow-trouble-for-yourself-if-that-s-your-nature-but-don-t-lend-it/)

[Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/)

> [There is no human nature, since there is no god to conceive it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/there-is-no-human-nature-since-there-is-no-god-to-conceive-it/)

[Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/)

> [“Men mistook measurement for understanding. And they always had to put themselves at the center of everything. That was their greatest conceit. The earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/men-mistook-measurement-for-understanding-and-they-always-had-to-put/)

[Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/)

> [“She was, he knew- and had known very early, he supposed- one of those rare and always lovely humans whose moral nature was so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-williams/she-was-he-knew-and-had-known-very-early-he-supposed-one-of-those/)

[John Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-williams/)

> [“When the water covers the earth the sun will vanish the darkess and the cold will come.When the last dragon and the last Elf…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/silvana-de-mari/when-the-water-covers-the-earth-the-sun-will-vanish-the-darkess-and/)

[Silvana de Mari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/silvana-de-mari/)

> [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/)

[Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/)

> [“It is not the force of the wind, but the depth of the roots.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/it-is-not-the-force-of-the-wind-but-the-depth-of-the-roots/)

[Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/)

> [The history of mankind interests us only as it exhibits a steady gain of truth and right, in the incessant conflict which it records…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-history-of-mankind-interests-us-only-as-it-exhibits-a-steady-gain/)

[Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/)

> [Nothing is so powerful as an insight into human nature... what compulsions drive a man, what instincts dominate his action. If you know these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bernbach/nothing-is-so-powerful-as-an-insight-into-human-nature-what/)

[William Bernbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bernbach/)

> [Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/sing-like-no-one-s-listening-love-like-you-ve-never-been-hurt-dance/)

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

> [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/)

[Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/)

[Browse all 47,383 Nature quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“Keep close to Nature's heart, yourself; and break clear away, once in a while, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean... [John Muir to Samuel Hall Young]”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Samuel Hall Young"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-hall-young/keep-close-to-nature-s-heart-yourself-and-break-clear-away-once-in-a/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Nature"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-hall-young/keep-close-to-nature-s-heart-yourself-and-break-clear-away-once-in-a/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/483/samuel-hall-young-275885_nature_keep-close-to-nature-s-heart-yourself-an_3029917.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/483/samuel-hall-young-275885_nature_keep-close-to-nature-s-heart-yourself-an_3029917.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/483/samuel-hall-young-275885_nature_keep-close-to-nature-s-heart-yourself-an_3029917.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Keep close to Nature's heart, yourself; and break clear away, once in a while, and climb a mountain or spend…” — Samuel Hall Young",
                "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": "Samuel Hall Young",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-hall-young/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“Keep close to Nature's heart, yourself;...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-hall-young/keep-close-to-nature-s-heart-yourself-and-break-clear-away-once-in-a/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-hall-young/keep-close-to-nature-s-heart-yourself-and-break-clear-away-once-in-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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
