--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What can turn us from this deserted…" description: "\"“What can turn us from this deserted future, back into the sphere of our being, the great dance that joins us to our home, to each other and to other c..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddb/wendell-berry-236_desire_what-can-turn-us-from-this-deserted-futu_3092374.jpg" --- # What can turn us from this deserted future, back into the… ![“What can turn us from this deserted future, back into the sphere of our being, the great dance that joins us to our home, to each other and to other creatures, to the dead and unborn? I think it is love. I am perforce aware how baldly and embarrassingly that word now lies on the page—for we have…” quote by Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddb/wendell-berry-236_desire_what-can-turn-us-from-this-deserted-futu_3092374.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddb/wendell-berry-236_desire_what-can-turn-us-from-this-deserted-futu_3092374.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddb/wendell-berry-236_desire_what-can-turn-us-from-this-deserted-futu_3092374.jpg) > ““What can turn us from this deserted future, back into the sphere of our being, the great dance that joins us to our home, to each other and to other creatures, to the dead and unborn? I think it is love. I am perforce aware how baldly and embarrassingly that word now lies on the page—for we have learned at once to overuse it, abuse it, and hold it in suspicion. But I do not mean any kind of abstract love (adolescent, romantic, or "religious"), which is probably a contradiction in terms, but particular love for particular things, places, creatures, and people, requiring stands, acts, showing its successes and failures in practical or tangible effects. And it implies a responsibility just as particular, not grim or merely dutiful, but rising out of generosity. I think that this sort of love defines the effective range of human intelligence, the range within its works can be dependably beneficent. Only the action that is moved by love for the good at hand has the hope of being responsible and generous. Desire for the future produces words that cannot be stood by. But love makes language exact, because one loves only what one knows.”” [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. Love for specific people, places, and things grounds responsible, generous action and makes language precise. **In simple terms:** Particular love guides responsible, effective action. Key Takeaway Act out love for what you know. Themes love responsibility human intelligence Mood reflective inspirational Type ethical philosophical When to use this quote - environmental stewardship - community building - personal relationships - creative work Key Concepts generosity ethical action practical love Questions to Reflect On - How can you practice love in daily decisions? - What responsibilities arise from loving specific things? A Different Perspective Love can be idealized and neglect broader responsibilities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abstract Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstract-love-2683923/) [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Human intelligence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-intelligence/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Love Defines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-defines-1204058/) [Particular Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/particular-love-4272886/) [Think Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-love-268581/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [I think that first love defines you and your relationships, for the rest of your life. I had a great first love. My heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-pettyfer/i-think-that-first-love-defines-you-and-your-relationships-for-the/) [Alex Pettyfer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-pettyfer/) > [“Not that he felt any particular love for himself, but his dislike of others induced him to make the best of his own company.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/not-that-he-felt-any-particular-love-for-himself-but-his-dislike-of/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [“It so happens that this is particular love was precisely the sort best suited to the state of her soul. It was a sort…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/it-so-happens-that-this-is-particular-love-was-precisely-the-sort/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [In abstract love of humanity one almost always only loves oneself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoevsky/in-abstract-love-of-humanity-one-almost-always-only-loves-oneself/) [Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoevsky/) > [“Abstract love of humanity is nearly always love of self.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/abstract-love-of-humanity-is-nearly-always-love-of-self/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [“Neither of them thinks of love like they used to, as something to be fallen into, like a bed or a pit. It isn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-church/neither-of-them-thinks-of-love-like-they-used-to-as-something-to-be/) [Kim Church](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-church/) > [I don't care if Margot is a Dame of the British Empire or older than myself. For me she represents eternal youth; there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-nureyev/i-don-t-care-if-margot-is-a-dame-of-the-british-empire-or-older-than/) [Rudolf Nureyev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-nureyev/) > [“I have come to realize that what is important is not my loss and the pain it caused but the fact that I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-ward/i-have-come-to-realize-that-what-is-important-is-not-my-loss-and-the/) [Heather Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-ward/) > [What is Love? Love Conquers all It even catches me when I fall That feeling inside that breaks me down and reveals my pride,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curly-girl/what-is-love-love-conquers-all-it-even-catches-me-when-i-fall-that/) [Curly Girl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curly-girl/) > [Love knows no reasons, Love knows no lies, Love defines all reasons, Love has no eyes... But love is not blind, Love sees all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/move-on07/love-knows-no-reasons-love-knows-no-lies-love-defines-all-reasons/) [Move-on07](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/move-on07/) > [God is love, but He also defines what love is. We don't have the license to define love according to our standards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-chan/god-is-love-but-he-also-defines-what-love-is-we-don-t-have-the/) [Francis Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-chan/) > [Only one thing, is more beautiful than the exquisite anticipation, of Passion; The Love that defines it...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-nickel/only-one-thing-is-more-beautiful-than-the-exquisite-anticipation-of/) [Eric Nickel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-nickel/) > [“We are created in the image of our heavenly parents; we are God's spirit children. Therefore, we have a vast capacity for love—it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dieter-f-uchtdorf/we-are-created-in-the-image-of-our-heavenly-parents-we-are-god-s-2/) [Dieter F. Uchtdorf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dieter-f-uchtdorf/) > [“Love defines a peaceful world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/love-defines-a-peaceful-world/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“No love defines us as much as the losses we have made in its name.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-chouette/no-love-defines-us-as-much-as-the-losses-we-have-made-in-its-name/) [Laura Chouette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-chouette/) ## 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 Desire quotes > [I put myself in the student's place and remember the frustrations, doubts, determination, and desires I felt when I was going through the initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-martinez/i-put-myself-in-the-student-s-place-and-remember-the-frustrations/) [Ted Martinez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-martinez/) > [Passion is what you need to be good, an unforgiving passion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-easton/passion-is-what-you-need-to-be-good-an-unforgiving-passion/) [David Easton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-easton/) > [I want the municipality to be a helping hand to the man with a desire of sympathy, to help the fallen when it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burns/i-want-the-municipality-to-be-a-helping-hand-to-the-man-with-a-desire/) [John Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burns/) > [Ye youths and virgins, when your generous blood Has drunk the warmth of fifteen summers, now The loves invite; now to new rapture wakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/ye-youths-and-virgins-when-your-generous-blood-has-drunk-the-warmth/) [John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [“THE ESSENCE OF YOUR DESIRE IS A FEELING”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-laporte/the-essence-of-your-desire-is-a-feeling/) [Danielle LaPorte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-laporte/) > [On the brink of being satiated, desire still appears infinite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-rostand/on-the-brink-of-being-satiated-desire-still-appears-infinite/) [Jean Rostand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-rostand/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [He caught her, she fell, he caught her in his arms, he held her tightly unconscious of what he was doing. He held her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/he-caught-her-she-fell-he-caught-her-in-his-arms-he-held-her-tightly/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [ Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit. My three \[great teachers\] did not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/teaching-might-even-be-the-greatest-of-the-arts-since-the-medium-is/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“The deepest urge in human nature is the desire to be important.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/the-deepest-urge-in-human-nature-is-the-desire-to-be-important/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [In discovering books, you became free to explore the full range of human motives, desires, secrets, and lies. All my life, people have scolded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/in-discovering-books-you-became-free-to-explore-the-full-range-of/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) > [I have never been in, nor have I had any strong particular desire to be in, what is termed a costume drama, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-freeman/i-have-never-been-in-nor-have-i-had-any-strong-particular-desire-to/) [Martin Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-freeman/) > [Now I am in the place I call this wide wide Heaven because it includes all my simplest desires but also the most humble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/now-i-am-in-the-place-i-call-this-wide-wide-heaven-because-it/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [“from THE DEVIL YOU KNOW : She wanted him too. He could see it in the rapid rise of her breasts. He could smell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emery-lee/from-the-devil-you-know-she-wanted-him-too-he-could-see-it-in-the/) [Emery Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emery-lee/) [Browse all 15,155 Desire quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“What can turn us from this deserted future, back into the sphere of our being, the great dance that joins us to our home, to each other and to other creatures, to the dead and unborn? I think it is love. I am perforce aware how baldly and embarrassingly that word now lies on the page—for we have learned at once to overuse it, abuse it, and hold it in suspicion. 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