--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: All of our ideas come from the natural…" description: "\"All of our ideas come from the natural world: trees equal umbrellas.\" — Wallace Stevens" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd2/wallace-stevens-846_equal_all-of-our-ideas-come-from-the-natural-w_489178.jpg" --- # All of our ideas come from the natural world: trees equal… ![“All of our ideas come from the natural world: trees equal umbrellas.” quote by Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd2/wallace-stevens-846_equal_all-of-our-ideas-come-from-the-natural-w_489178.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd2/wallace-stevens-846_equal_all-of-our-ideas-come-from-the-natural-w_489178.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd2/wallace-stevens-846_equal_all-of-our-ideas-come-from-the-natural-w_489178.jpg) > “All of our ideas come from the natural world: trees equal umbrellas.” [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) ## 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 suggests that human concepts are derived from observing nature, using metaphor to illustrate that natural forms inspire our ideas. **In simple terms:** Ideas stem from nature, like trees serving as umbrellas. Key Takeaway Look to nature for inspiration. Themes creativity observation metaphor philosophy nature Mood inspirational contemplative Type creative philosophical When to use this quote - design brainstorming - writing workshops - educational curricula - environmental advocacy - personal reflection Key Concepts symbolism cognitive mapping environmental influence Questions to Reflect On - What natural phenomena shape your thinking? - How can you translate observation into innovation? A Different Perspective Metaphors may oversimplify complex ideas. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Equal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/equal/) [Equal Umbrellas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/equal-umbrellas-4189682/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Natural](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/natural/) [Natural world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/natural-world/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Tree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tree/) [Trees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trees/) [Trees Equal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trees-equal-4189683/) [Umbrella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/umbrella/) [Umbrellas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/umbrellas/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [All men are equal — all men, that is to say, who possess umbrellas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/all-men-are-equal-all-men-that-is-to-say-who-possess-umbrellas/) [E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) > [The rain falls upon the just And also on the unjust fellas But mostly it falls upon the just Cause the unjust have the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/the-rain-falls-upon-the-just-and-also-on-the-unjust-fellas-but-mostly/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [Umbrellas are so small and sad and easy to forget.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-perkins/umbrellas-are-so-small-and-sad-and-easy-to-forget/) [Stephanie Perkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-perkins/) > [I get my by any means on, whenever there's a drought get your umbrellas out because that's when I brainstorm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-z/i-get-my-by-any-means-on-whenever-there-s-a-drought-get-your/) [Jay-Z](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-z/) > [“We have one thing in common with umbrellas: We both exist because the rain exists!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/we-have-one-thing-in-common-with-umbrellas-we-both-exist-because-the/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [My dad hates umbrellas, said Deeba, swinging her own. When it rains he always says the same thing. 'I do not believe the presence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/my-dad-hates-umbrellas-said-deeba-swinging-her-own-when-it-rains-he/) [China Mieville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/) > [“Umbrella is comfort, rain is life! You must often leave comfort to touch the life!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/umbrella-is-comfort-rain-is-life-you-must-often-leave-comfort-to/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“I stood under the umbrella for hours before I folded it up and started walking. Umbrellas can block the sun, shield the rain, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-stood-under-the-umbrella-for-hours-before-i-folded-it-up-and/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [Mr. President, when it rains it pours, but most Americans hold their own umbrellas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-palin/mr-president-when-it-rains-it-pours-but-most-americans-hold-their-own/) [Sarah Palin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-palin/) > [Keep at least one window pane clean to check the weather. Once when I didn't do this I sent the kids off with umbrellas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-diller/keep-at-least-one-window-pane-clean-to-check-the-weather-once-when-i/) [Phyllis Diller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-diller/) > [The rain increases and umbrellas sprout like mushrooms amongst the graves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-morgenstern/the-rain-increases-and-umbrellas-sprout-like-mushrooms-amongst-the/) [Erin Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-morgenstern/) > [I really like umbrellas. It's like, I have a roof! I carry it with me! Umbrellas always amuse me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-really-like-umbrellas-it-s-like-i-have-a-roof-i-carry-it-with-me/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [A businessman needs three umbrellas - one to leave at the office, one to leave at home, and one to leave on the train](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-dickson/a-businessman-needs-three-umbrellas-one-to-leave-at-the-office-one-to/) [Paul Dickson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-dickson/) > [Rain is something the democrats use to sell umbrellas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-palin/rain-is-something-the-democrats-use-to-sell-umbrellas/) [Sarah Palin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-palin/) > [All men are equal - all men, that is, who possess umbrellas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/all-men-are-equal-all-men-that-is-who-possess-umbrellas/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Wallace Stevens > [Poet, patting more nonsense foamed From the sea, conceive for thecourts Of these academies, the diviner health Disclosed in common forms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/poet-patting-more-nonsense-foamed-from-the-sea-conceive-for-thecourts/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [The way through the world is more difficult to find than the way beyond it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/the-way-through-the-world-is-more-difficult-to-find-than-the-way/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [The magnificent cause of being, The imagination, the one reality In this imagined world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/the-magnificent-cause-of-being-the-imagination-the-one-reality-in/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [Music falls on the silence like a sense / A passion that we feel, not understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/music-falls-on-the-silence-like-a-sense-a-passion-that-we-feel-not/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [The life of the city never lets you go, nor do you ever want it to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/the-life-of-the-city-never-lets-you-go-nor-do-you-ever-want-it-to/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [After a lustre of the moon, we say We have not the need of any paradise, We have not the need of any seducing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/after-a-lustre-of-the-moon-we-say-we-have-not-the-need-of-any/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [I am what is around me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/i-am-what-is-around-me/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [“We live in an old chaos of the sun, Or old dependency of day and night, Or island solitude, unsponsored, free, Of that wide…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/we-live-in-an-old-chaos-of-the-sun-or-old-dependency-of-day-and-night/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [“Lunar Paraphrase" The moon is the mother of pathos and pity. When, at the wearier end of November, Her old light moves along the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/lunar-paraphrase-the-moon-is-the-mother-of-pathos-and-pity-when-at/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [Poetry is the scholar's art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/poetry-is-the-scholar-s-art/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [“The stars are putting on their glittering belts, They throw around their shoulders cloaks that flash Like a great shadow's last embellishment”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/the-stars-are-putting-on-their-glittering-belts-they-throw-around/) [wallace stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [Unfortunately there is nothing more inane than an Easter carol. It is a religious perversion of the activity of Spring in our blood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/unfortunately-there-is-nothing-more-inane-than-an-easter-carol-it-is/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [The word is the making of the world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/the-word-is-the-making-of-the-world/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [A diary is more or less the work of a man of clay whose hands are clumsy and in whose eyes there is no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/a-diary-is-more-or-less-the-work-of-a-man-of-clay-whose-hands-are/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [It is never the thing but the version of the thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/it-is-never-the-thing-but-the-version-of-the-thing/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) [Explore all 352 Wallace Stevens quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) ## More Equal quotes > [For many, the call to be a Christian can seem demanding, even overwhelming. 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However, even if a woman is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yusuf-al-qaradawi/islam-never-differentiates-between-men-and-women-as-regards-political/) [Yusuf al-Qaradawi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yusuf-al-qaradawi/) > [This brings me back to the image of Kafka standing before a fish in the Berlin aquarium, a fish on which his gaze fell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/this-brings-me-back-to-the-image-of-kafka-standing-before-a-fish-in/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [Friendship, "the wine of life," should, like a well-stocked cellar, be continually renewed; and it is consolatory to think, that although we can seldom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-boswell/friendship-the-wine-of-life-should-like-a-well-stocked-cellar-be/) [James Boswell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-boswell/) > [Jeff Chu's pilgrimage across America to discover his own place as a gay man in the Christian church as well as attitudes about being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-freitas/jeff-chu-s-pilgrimage-across-america-to-discover-his-own-place-as-a/) [Donna Freitas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-freitas/) > [Only to have a grief equal to all these tears!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/only-to-have-a-grief-equal-to-all-these-tears/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [My mom and dad had the relationship that I want, and they were teammates. They were always equal 50/50.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/becca-kufrin/my-mom-and-dad-had-the-relationship-that-i-want-and-they-were/) [Becca Kufrin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/becca-kufrin/) > [Faith and unfaith can ne'er be equal powers; Unfaith is aught is want of faith in all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/faith-and-unfaith-can-ne-er-be-equal-powers-unfaith-is-aught-is-want/) [Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) > [If it is true that there is always more than one way of construing a text, it is not true that all interpretations are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-ricoeur/if-it-is-true-that-there-is-always-more-than-one-way-of-construing-a/) [Paul Ricoeur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-ricoeur/) > [There is usually no dreamer so unworldly as the anthologist. 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