--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: From a large planet of overwhelming…" description: "\"From a large planet of overwhelming magnitude, unlimited resources and endless mystery, the Earth has suddenly become a small planet, thoroughly explor..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b60/thomas-berry-7391_earth_from-a-large-planet-of-overwhelming-magn_1397029.png" --- # From a large planet of overwhelming magnitude, unlimited… ![“From a large planet of overwhelming magnitude, unlimited resources and endless mystery, the Earth has suddenly become a small planet, thoroughly explored, limited in resources, and reduced in mystery.” quote by Thomas Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b60/thomas-berry-7391_earth_from-a-large-planet-of-overwhelming-magn_1397029.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b60/thomas-berry-7391_earth_from-a-large-planet-of-overwhelming-magn_1397029.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b60/thomas-berry-7391_earth_from-a-large-planet-of-overwhelming-magn_1397029.png) > “From a large planet of overwhelming magnitude, unlimited resources and endless mystery, the Earth has suddenly become a small planet, thoroughly explored, limited in resources, and reduced in mystery.” [Thomas Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-berry/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Highlights humanity's shift from seeing Earth as vast and mysterious to viewing it as limited and well‑known, prompting humility. **In simple terms:** Earth went from mysterious to limited; we must stay humble. Key Takeaway Recognize limits and act responsibly toward Earth. Themes environment humility perspective anthropocene Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical environmental When to use this quote - policy making - education - conservation - resource management Key Concepts resource scarcity exploration scientific discovery Questions to Reflect On - What responsibilities arise from this new perspective? - How can we maintain wonder while acknowledging limits? A Different Perspective May overlook ongoing unknowns and future discoveries. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Limited resources](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/limited-resources/) [Mystery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mystery/) ## Related quotes > [“The silence of earth seemed to melt into the silence of the heavens. The mystery of earth was one with the mystery of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/the-silence-of-earth-seemed-to-melt-into-the-silence-of-the-heavens/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [You're in orbit over the Earth. And suddenly it's very, very quiet. It's dramatic. 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Pearson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-e-pearson/) > [For in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/for-in-the-final-analysis-our-most-basic-common-link-is-that-we-all/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [The life that we see on our small planet is not necessarily a great reflection of the entire universe. The people are beautiful, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/the-life-that-we-see-on-our-small-planet-is-not-necessarily-a-great/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [“In the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/in-the-final-analysis-our-most-basic-common-link-is-that-we-all/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [“Every good operative knows that the world is small, but the planet is big.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ally-carter/every-good-operative-knows-that-the-world-is-small-but-the-planet-is/) [Ally Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ally-carter/) > [I wrote a piece from North Korea called Visit to a Small Planet which is a line I stole from a play of Gore…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/i-wrote-a-piece-from-north-korea-called-visit-to-a-small-planet-which/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) ## More by Thomas Berry > [Teaching children about the natural world should be seen as one of the most important events in their lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-berry/teaching-children-about-the-natural-world-should-be-seen-as-one-of/) [Thomas Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-berry/) > [All human activities, professions, programs, and institutions must henceforth be judged primarily by the extent to which they inhibit, ignore, or foster a mutually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-berry/all-human-activities-professions-programs-and-institutions-must/) [Thomas Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-berry/) > [The universe must be experienced as the Great Self. Each is fulfilled in the other: the Great Self is fulfilled in the individual self,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-berry/the-universe-must-be-experienced-as-the-great-self-each-is-fulfilled/) [Thomas Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-berry/) > [To attain peace among the nations in any dynamic or enduring form requires not simply political negotiation but a new mode of consciousness. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-berry/to-attain-peace-among-the-nations-in-any-dynamic-or-enduring-form/) [Thomas Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-berry/) > [The divine communicates to us primarily through the language of the natural world. Not to hear the natural world is not to hear the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-berry/the-divine-communicates-to-us-primarily-through-the-language-of-the/) [Thomas Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-berry/) > [ During this period (of technological confinement / \[and language\]) the human mind has been placed in its narrowest confines it has experienced since consciousness… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-berry/during-this-period-of-technological-confinement-and-language-the/) [Thomas Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-berry/) > [As humans we are born of the Earth, nourished by the Earth, healed by the Earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-berry/as-humans-we-are-born-of-the-earth-nourished-by-the-earth-healed-by/) [Thomas Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-berry/) > [Our present urgency is to recover a sense of the primacy of the Universe as our fundamental context, and the primacy of the Earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-berry/our-present-urgency-is-to-recover-a-sense-of-the-primacy-of-the/) [Thomas Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-berry/) > [There is an ultimate wildness in all this, for the universe, as existence itself, is a terrifying as well as a benign mode of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-berry/there-is-an-ultimate-wildness-in-all-this-for-the-universe-as/) [Thomas Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-berry/) > [The Universe is a unity, an interacting and genetically-related community of beings bound together in an inseparable relationship in space and time... The human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-berry/the-universe-is-a-unity-an-interacting-and-genetically-related/) [Thomas Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-berry/) > [The future rests in the religious, political, economic and cultural capacity of humans to establish this larger context in which the particular traditions will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-berry/the-future-rests-in-the-religious-political-economic-and-cultural/) [Thomas Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-berry/) > [We see quite clearly that what happens to the nonhuman, happens to the human. What happens to the outer world, happens to the inner…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-berry/we-see-quite-clearly-that-what-happens-to-the-nonhuman-happens-to-the/) [Thomas Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-berry/) > [Because of this erotic bond, the earth becomes luxuriant in its every aspect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-berry/because-of-this-erotic-bond-the-earth-becomes-luxuriant-in-its-every/) [Thomas Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-berry/) > [Our fulfillment is not in our isolated human grandeur, but in our intimacy with the larger earth community, for this is also the larger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-berry/our-fulfillment-is-not-in-our-isolated-human-grandeur-but-in-our/) [Thomas Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-berry/) > [We can break the mountains apart; we can drain the rivers and flood the valleys. We can turn the most luxuriant forests into throw-away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-berry/we-can-break-the-mountains-apart-we-can-drain-the-rivers-and-flood/) [Thomas Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-berry/) [Explore all 91 Thomas Berry quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-berry/) ## More Earth quotes > [There is something more important than any ultimate weapon. That is the ultimate position-the position of total control over Earth that lies somewhere out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/there-is-something-more-important-than-any-ultimate-weapon-that-is/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [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/) > [“The global population of Earth are involved in the following corporate government experiments: The long term effects of - 1. Nuclear bomb fallout radiation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/the-global-population-of-earth-are-involved-in-the-following/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [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/) > [Mythology is something that always has opportunities to explore. 'It' has been on Earth for millions of years. He's been in contact with humans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-muschietti/mythology-is-something-that-always-has-opportunities-to-explore-it/) [Andy Muschietti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-muschietti/) > [Give me strength to walk the soft earth, a relative to all that is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/black-elk/give-me-strength-to-walk-the-soft-earth-a-relative-to-all-that-is/) [Black Elk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/black-elk/) > [I have lifted my plane . . . for perhaps a thousand flights and I have never felt her wheels glide from the Earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-markham/i-have-lifted-my-plane-for-perhaps-a-thousand-flights-and-i-have/) [Beryl Markham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beryl-markham/) > [Set NOT your hearts on the flowers of this world. They shall fade and die. Prize the Rose of Sharon and the Lily of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/set-not-your-hearts-on-the-flowers-of-this-world-they-shall-fade-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Then all this earth shines like one house.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramana-maharshi/then-all-this-earth-shines-like-one-house/) [Ramana Maharshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramana-maharshi/) > [When I get a chance to play golf or go on a boat with good people, take the boat out and put some lobsters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-mac/when-i-get-a-chance-to-play-golf-or-go-on-a-boat-with-good-people/) [Bernie Mac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-mac/) > [When man of slender visits you / Nothing on earth that one can do / In well he’ll hide, or watery hole / And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-goldstein/when-man-of-slender-visits-you-nothing-on-earth-that-one-can-do-in/) [Jack Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-goldstein/) > [Cities are 2% of the earth's crust, but they are 50% of the world's population.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlo-ratti/cities-are-2-of-the-earth-s-crust-but-they-are-50-of-the-world-s/) [Carlo Ratti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlo-ratti/) > [This, at last, was where things were as they ought to be. Everything was in its place -- the tree, the earth underneath, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-liedloff/this-at-last-was-where-things-were-as-they-ought-to-be-everything-was/) [Jean Liedloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-liedloff/) > [Bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. 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