Wilfred Thesiger famous quotes

Last updated: Sep 5, 2024

In the desert I had found a freedom unattainable in civilization; a life unhampered by possessions, since everything that was not a necessity was an encumbrance. I had found too, a comradeship inherent in the circumstances, and the belief that tranquility was to be found there.
-- Wilfred Thesiger

#Civilization #Desert #Unattainable
Hunger, thirst, heat and cold: I had tasted them in full
-- Wilfred Thesiger

#Heat #Cold #Hunger
The harder the life, the finer the person.
-- Wilfred Thesiger

#Life #Harder #Persons
I knew instinctively that it was the very hardness of life in the desert which drew me back there - it was the same pull which takes men back to the polar ice, to high mountains, and to the sea.
-- Wilfred Thesiger

#Men #Sea #Ice
For me, exploration was a personal venture. I did not go to the Arabian desert to collect plants nor to make a map; such things were incidental. At heart I knew that to write or even to talk of my travels was to tarnish the achievement. I went there to find peace in the hardship of desert travel and the company of desert peoples. I set myself a goal on these journeys, and, although the goal itself was unimportant, its attainment had to be worth every effort and sacrifice... No, it is not the goal but the way there that matters, and the harder the way the more worth while the journey.
-- Wilfred Thesiger

#Writing #Heart #Sacrifice

To correct the evils, great and small, which spring from want of sympathy and from positive enmity among strangers, as nations or as individuals, is one of the highest functions of civilization.
The consensus is clear. We need an immediate and determined shift to a clean, renewable economy. The continued mass burning of fossil fuels is inconsistent with a healthy, prosperous future for our civilization.
Many free countries have lost their liberty, and ours may lose hers; but, if she shall, be it my proudest plume, not that I was the last to desert, but that I never deserted her.
Critic, relent!Your hope for repentanceWill meet with disapppointment.For this is the life,Not desert tents,Not camel's milk!
And yonder all before us lie Deserts of vast eternity.
Many of the tribal peoples of the world recognize that there are four places in nature where you can find deep peace and remember who you really are. One is in the deep woods; one is in the desert; one in the mountains and one near the ocean
I started to draw desert islands. They were just rough, shapes in the middle of the page. Then I began drawing shapes within those shapes and I was amazed how quickly the islands got better. It took off from there.
I want to be first. I know thatâ€™s selfish, and maybe unattainable, and maybe shallow. But I just want to come first with someone. If thatâ€™s wrong of me, so be it. Iâ€™ll be wrong. But thatâ€™s the way I feel.â€ (Sookie Stackhouse)
The visual life is an enormous undertaking, practically unattainable.
To pursue a goal which is by definition unattainable is to condemn oneself to a state of perpetual unhappiness.

Wilfred Thesiger famous quotes

You may also like: