How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
Like the bear who went over the mountain, I went out to see what I could see. And, I might as well warn you, like the bear, all that I could see was the other side of the mountain: more of the same. (1.28)
This is a literal example of not being able to see the forest for the trees. When Annie goes out walking in the woods, she sees a whole lot of woods, and she realizes she has to look deeper to see something new.
Quote #2
I would like to know grasses and sedges—and care. Then my least journey into the world would be a field trip, a series of happy recognitions. (2.3)
Caring is central here: If you're really into something, you always see something new in it. For example, if you love baseball, you'll see something new in every game; if you don't, though, it all just looks like a bunch of guys hitting a ball and running around.
Quote #3
The point is that I just don't know what the lover knows; I just can't see the artificial obvious that those in the know construct. (2.8)
Translation: The more we know about something and the more passionate about it we are, the more detail we can see when we look at it.
Quote #4
When I see this way, I analyze and pry. I hurl over logs and roll away stones; I study the bank a square foot at a time, probing and tilting my head. (2.32)
Annie needs to keep a running commentary on the present moment in her mind so she doesn't get distracted. When she's aware of what she sees and acknowledges it constantly, she sees more deeply.
Quote #5
When I walk with a camera I walk from shot to shot, reading the light on a calibrated meter. When I walk without a camera, my own shutter opens, and the moment's light prints on my own silver gut. (2.33)
We're sure you know people who can't stop Instagramming and Facebooking everything, who only see the world through their phones. Pretty cool how Dillard already knew the limitations of this in 1974, huh?
Quote #6
If you can't see the forest for the trees, then look at the trees; when you've looked at enough trees, you've seen a forest, you've got it. (8.13)
Again, this is the larger world through the lens of a smaller one. If you're too small to see an overview, you can get the picture, as Anne Lamott says, "bird by bird."
Quote #7
And, if I try to keep my eye on quantum physics, if I try to keep up with astronomy and cosmology, and really believe it all, I might ultimately be able to make out the landscape of the universe. Why not? (8.35)
All the sciences are intertwined with each other and with art. Discovering the connection requires a constant commitment to seeing.
Quote #8
Muskrats are cautious. Many, many evenings I wait without seeing one. But sometimes it turns out that the focus of my wanting is misdirected […] For when the muskrats don't show, something else does. (11.16)
There's a book by the author Lawrence Weschler called Seeing is Forgetting the Name of the Thing One Sees, and that's what Dillard's doing here. It doesn't matter if she sees a muskrat; it only matters that she sees, that she is open.
Quote #9
I've been there, seen it, done it, I suddenly think, and the world is old, a hungry old man, fatigued and broken past mending. (13.47)
Anytime you go on a quest, there are going to be moments when you become disillusioned. Fortunately, if you stick around long enough, the awe comes back.
Quote #10
I could go. I could simply angle off the path, take one step after another, and be on my way. I could walk to Point Barrow, Mount McKinley, Hudson's Bay. My summer jacket is put away; my winter jacket is warm. (14.18)
This is a slight oversimplification of the ease of following a dream, but after reading Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, you might realize it's actually much easier than most people make it out to be.