Exhausted Quote by Wendell Berry
“During the last 17 years... I have been working at the restoration of a once exhausted hillside. Its scars are now healed over, though still visible, and this year it has provided abundant pasture, more than in any year since we have owned it. But to make it as good as it is now has taken 17 years. If I had been a millionaire or if my family had been starving, it would still have taken 17 years. It can be better than it is now, but that will take longer. For it to live fully in its own responsibility, as it did before bad use ran it down, may take hundreds of years.”
About This Quote
A long‑term view of ecological stewardship, emphasizing patience, persistence, and the humility to accept slow progress despite external pressures.
In simple terms: Patient ecological stewardship
Key Takeaway
Patience yields restoration
Themes
environmental recovery
long‑term planning
resilience
humility
intergenerational responsibility
Mood
hopeful
reflective
steady
Type
narrative
explanatory
inspirational
When to use this quote
- restoring degraded land
- planning community agriculture
- advocating for slow‑growth policies
Key Concepts
soil health
land management
sustainability
time horizon
Practical Applications
- land‑restoration case study
- policy briefing on sustainable practices
Questions to Reflect On
- Why is patience essential in ecological work?
- What trade‑offs arise when immediate profit conflicts with long‑term health?
![“Jowett, in his day, did probably more than any other single man to let some fresh air into the exhausted atmosphere of the [Oxford] common rooms, and to widen the intellectual horizons of the place.” quote by Benjamin Jowett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/9c6/benjamin-jowett-20480_air_jowett-in-his-day-did-probably-more-than_26898.jpg)
