--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: One of the most important resources that…" description: "\"One of the most important resources that a garden makes available for use, is the gardener's own body. A garden gives the body the dignity of working i..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/791/wendell-berry-236_body_one-of-the-most-important-resources-that_778523.jpg" --- # One of the most important resources that a garden makes… ![“One of the most important resources that a garden makes available for use, is the gardener's own body. A garden gives the body the dignity of working in its own support. It is a way of rejoining the human race.” quote by Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/791/wendell-berry-236_body_one-of-the-most-important-resources-that_778523.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/791/wendell-berry-236_body_one-of-the-most-important-resources-that_778523.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/791/wendell-berry-236_body_one-of-the-most-important-resources-that_778523.jpg) > “One of the most important resources that a garden makes available for use, is the gardener's own body. A garden gives the body the dignity of working in its own support. It is a way of rejoining the human race.” [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Gardening connects the body to the earth, restoring dignity through self‑sustaining labor. **In simple terms:** Working the garden restores personal dignity and connection. Key Takeaway Engage with nature to regain purpose. Themes nature self‑reliance community health Mood reflective hopeful Type environmental inspirational When to use this quote - urban gardening - rehabilitation - education programs Key Concepts ecology embodiment Questions to Reflect On - What does physical work in nature teach about self‑worth? - How can gardening foster community resilience? A Different Perspective May idealize labor without addressing systemic inequities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) [Dignity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dignity/) [Dignity of work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dignity-of-work/) [Flower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flower/) [Garden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/garden/) [Gardener](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gardener/) [Gardening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gardening/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Human race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-race/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/race/) [Respect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/respect/) [Support](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/support/) ## Related quotes > [It is not the gardener that makes the garden. It is the garden that makes the gardener.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-chadwick/it-is-not-the-gardener-that-makes-the-garden-it-is-the-garden-that/) [Alan Chadwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-chadwick/) > [A garden has this advantage, that it makes it indifferent where you live. A well-laid garden makes the face of the country of no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-garden-has-this-advantage-that-it-makes-it-indifferent-where-you/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [A garden that one makes oneself becomes associated with one’s personal history and that of one’s friends, interwoven with one’s tastes, preferences and character…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-austin/a-garden-that-one-makes-oneself-becomes-associated-with-one-s/) [Alfred Austin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-austin/) > [Do we talk about the dignity of work? Do we give our students any reason for believing it is worthwhile to sacrifice for their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sargent-shriver/do-we-talk-about-the-dignity-of-work-do-we-give-our-students-any/) [Sargent Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sargent-shriver/) > [“But there was one occasion when we went down to a village to set up our feeding kitchens and I noticed there was another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-juergensmeyer/but-there-was-one-occasion-when-we-went-down-to-a-village-to-set-up/) Mark Juergensmeyer > [Jesus came into this world not as a philosopher or a general but as a carpenter. All work matters to God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/jesus-came-into-this-world-not-as-a-philosopher-or-a-general-but-as-a/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [The American culture promotes personal responsibility, the dignity of work, the value of education, the merit of service, devotion to a purpose greater than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitt-romney/the-american-culture-promotes-personal-responsibility-the-dignity-of/) [Mitt Romney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitt-romney/) > [How I wish everyone had decent work! It is essential for human dignity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/how-i-wish-everyone-had-decent-work-it-is-essential-for-human-dignity/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [There is no worse material poverty, I am keen to stress, than the poverty which prevents people from earning their bread and deprives them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/there-is-no-worse-material-poverty-i-am-keen-to-stress-than-the/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [My parents were exactly like millions of other Americans who had a fire in their belly to build something of their own, and in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-beauprez/my-parents-were-exactly-like-millions-of-other-americans-who-had-a/) [Bob Beauprez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-beauprez/) > [Labor is the superior of capital, and deserves much the higher consideration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/labor-is-the-superior-of-capital-and-deserves-much-the-higher/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [Work requirements offer opportunities to lifting individuals out of poverty, empower them with the dignity of work and self-reliability while also allowing states to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-sununu/work-requirements-offer-opportunities-to-lifting-individuals-out-of/) [Chris Sununu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-sununu/) > [There is no worse material poverty than one that does not allow for earning one’s bread and deprives one of the dignity of work.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/there-is-no-worse-material-poverty-than-one-that-does-not-allow-for/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [Labour parades compassion for the poor, but it practised casual cruelty by consigning millions to benefits. Yet there's nothing compassionate about being trapped on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-mcvey/labour-parades-compassion-for-the-poor-but-it-practised-casual/) [Esther McVey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-mcvey/) > [Thou, O God, dost sell us all good things at the price of labor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/thou-o-god-dost-sell-us-all-good-things-at-the-price-of-labor/) [Leonardo Da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) ## More 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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/during-the-last-17-years-i-have-been-working-at-the-restoration-of-a/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [Like the water of a deep stream, love is always too much. We did not make it. Though we drink till we burst, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/like-the-water-of-a-deep-stream-love-is-always-too-much-we-did-not/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [To husband is to use with care, to keep, to save, to make last, to conserve. Old usage tells us that there is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/to-husband-is-to-use-with-care-to-keep-to-save-to-make-last-to/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“The two families, sundered in the ruin of a friendship, were united again first in new friendship and then in mariage. My grandfather made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-two-families-sundered-in-the-ruin-of-a-friendship-were-united/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [The living can't quit living because the world has turned terrible and people they love and need are killed. They can't because they don't.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-living-can-t-quit-living-because-the-world-has-turned-terrible/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“I knew a man who, in the age of chain-saws, went right on cutting his wood with a handsaw and an axe. He was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/i-knew-a-man-who-in-the-age-of-chain-saws-went-right-on-cutting-his/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“The concept of country, homeland, dwelling place becomes simplified as "the environment" -- that is, what surrounds us, we have already made a profound…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-concept-of-country-homeland-dwelling-place-becomes-simplified-as/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [A community is the mental and spiritual condition of knowing that the place is shared, and that the people who share the place define…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/a-community-is-the-mental-and-spiritual-condition-of-knowing-that-the/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“That we can prescribe the terms of our own success, that we can live outside or in ignorance of the Great Economy are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/that-we-can-prescribe-the-terms-of-our-own-success-that-we-can-live/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“The mind that comes to rest is tended In ways that it cannot intend: Is borne, preserved, and comprehended By what it cannot comprehend.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-mind-that-comes-to-rest-is-tended-in-ways-that-it-cannot-intend/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [The mercy of the world is time. Time does not stop for love, but it does not stop for death and grief, either.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-mercy-of-the-world-is-time-time-does-not-stop-for-love-but-it/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [The soil is the great connector of our lives, the source and destination of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-soil-is-the-great-connector-of-our-lives-the-source-and/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [I dislike the thought that some animal has been made miserable to feed me. If I am going to eat meat, I want it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/i-dislike-the-thought-that-some-animal-has-been-made-miserable-to/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [Laughter is immeasurable. Be joyful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/laughter-is-immeasurable-be-joyful/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [These are people who are capable of devotion, public devotion, to justice. They meant what they said and every day that passes, they mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/these-are-people-who-are-capable-of-devotion-public-devotion-to/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) [Explore all 847 Wendell Berry quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) ## More Body quotes > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [The very purpose for being in this body, for every one of us, is to live and rejoice in that virgin area, that untouched,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/the-very-purpose-for-being-in-this-body-for-every-one-of-us-is-to/) [Sri Sri Ravi Shankar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/) > [Because of the womb being a central phenomenon in the feminine body, the whole psychology of woman differs: she is non-aggressive, non-inquiring, non-questioning, non-doubting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/because-of-the-womb-being-a-central-phenomenon-in-the-feminine-body/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [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/) > [I've used the Phoenix Centrifuge to replicate what the body's going to go through on the flight up. I've also done some gravity tests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/i-ve-used-the-phoenix-centrifuge-to-replicate-what-the-body-s-going/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [If the media is sending girls the message that their value lies in their bodies, this can only leave them feeling disempowered and distract…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-siebel-newsom/if-the-media-is-sending-girls-the-message-that-their-value-lies-in/) Jennifer Siebel Newsom > [Boys and boys' body image and clothes have become just as important an issue for boys as for girls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosalind-wiseman/boys-and-boys-body-image-and-clothes-have-become-just-as-important-an/) [Rosalind Wiseman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosalind-wiseman/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Racism is a cancer. You cannot ignore it and it'll go away. If you ignore cancer, it simply metastasizes and consumes the whole body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-davis/racism-is-a-cancer-you-cannot-ignore-it-and-it-ll-go-away-if-you/) [Daryl Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-davis/) > [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. On one hand, you're saying to have positive body image and love who we are; on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/america-you-re-sending-girls-a-mixed-message-on-one-hand-you-re/) [Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/) > [I read a couple of books about neuroscience and the relationship between the mind and the body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-kinnaman/i-read-a-couple-of-books-about-neuroscience-and-the-relationship/) [Joel Kinnaman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-kinnaman/) > [If japa is maintained, no useless talk during work will be possible. The mind will always remain peaceful. Modern day diseases are mostly psychosomatic.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mata-amritanandamayi/if-japa-is-maintained-no-useless-talk-during-work-will-be-possible/) [Mata Amritanandamayi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mata-amritanandamayi/) > [It is the incongruous thing in my entire life, this isolation.. ... My work requires it - but I myself have no need or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marsden-hartley/it-is-the-incongruous-thing-in-my-entire-life-this-isolation-my-work/) [Marsden Hartley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marsden-hartley/) > [My friends, this body - perhaps more than any other gathering in human history - now faces that difficult task.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/my-friends-this-body-perhaps-more-than-any-other-gathering-in-human/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) [Browse all 20,814 Body quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "One of the most important resources that a garden makes available for use, is the gardener's own body. A garden gives the body the dignity of working in its own support. 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