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The old and honorable idea of ‘vocation’ is simply that we each are called, by God, or by our gifts, or by our preference, to a kind of good work for which we are particularly fitted.

Wendell Berry

I was a bright boy and I ought to make something out of myself… something else that would be a cut or two above my humble origins.
WENDELL BERRY

Above Boy Bright Else Humble Make Myself Origin Out Something
The primary motive for good care and good use of the land-community is always going to be affection, which is too often lacking.
WENDELL BERRY

Affection Always Care Community Go Good Lack Land Motive Often Primary Use
Annual plants are nature’s emergency medical service, seeded in sounds and scars to hold the land until the perennial cover is re-established.
WENDELL BERRY

Annual Cover Emergency Hold Medical Nature Perennial Plant Scar Seed Service Sound Until
These are people who are capable of devotion, public devotion, to justice. They meant what they said and every day that passes, they mean it more.
WENDELL BERRY

Capable Devotion Justice People Public
For any sin, we all suffer. That is why our suffering is endless.
WENDELL BERRY

All Any Endless Sin Suffer
Industrial agriculture characteristically proceeds by single solutions to single problems: If you want the most money from your land this year, grow the crops for which the market price is highest.
WENDELL BERRY

Agriculture Characteristically Industrial Problem Proceed Single Solution
A longer memory, and a sterner sense of justice than we do.
WENDELL BERRY

Do Justice Longer Memory Sense Sterner We
The only time I’ve been arrested was in opposing the Marble Hill nuclear power plant in Indiana. That was in 1979.
WENDELL BERRY

Arrest Hill Indiana Marble Nuclear Only Oppose Plant Power Time Year
We have to regard them as gifts because we couldn’t make them. We have to regard them as good gifts because we couldn’t live without them.
WENDELL BERRY

Gift Good Live Make Makem Them Regard
Urban conservationists may feel entitled to be unconcerned about food production because they are not farmers. But they can’t be let off so easily, for they are all farming by proxy.
WENDELL BERRY

Conservationist Entitle Farmer Feel Food Production Unconcern Urban
And if we offend gravely enough against what we know to be true, as by failing badly enough to deal affectionately and responsibly with our land and our neighbors, truth will retaliate with ugliness, poverty, and disease.
WENDELL BERRY

Badly Disease Effection Enough Etaliate Gravely Neighbors Offend Poverty Resoinsinble True Truth Ugliness
It is not from ourselves that we learn to be better than we are.
WENDELL BERRY

Are Better From Learn Ourselves We
I come into the peace of wild things who do not tax their lives with forethought of grief…
WENDELL BERRY

Come Forethought Grief Into Live Peace Tax Thing Wild
To hear of a thousand deaths in war is terrible, and we ‘know’ that it is. But as it registers on our hearts, it is not more terrible than one death fully imagined.
WENDELL BERRY

Death Hear Know Terrible Thousand War
My belief is that the world and our life in it are conditional gifts.
WENDELL BERRY

Belief Condition Gift Life Our World
The latest technology is not always good for anything except to the producers of the technology.
WENDELL BERRY

Always Anything Except Good Latest Produce Technology
I’ve had a good life, and was born to and among people I’ve admired and loved.
WENDELL BERRY

Admire Among Born Good Life Loved People
The past is our definition. We may strive with good reason to escape it, or to escape what is bad in it. But we will escape it only by adding something better to it.
WENDELL BERRY

Add Bad Better Definition Escape Food May Past Reason Something Strive
If I was freer than I had ever been in my life, I was not yet entirely free, for I still hung on to an idea that had been set deep in me by all my schooling so far:
WENDELL BERRY

Been Deep Entirely Ever Far Free Idea Life Schooling Set So Still
To cherish what remains of it and to foster its renewal is our only hope.
WENDELL BERRY

Cherish Foster Hope Only Our Remain Renewal
We have the world to live in on the condition that we will take good care of it.
WENDELL BERRY

Care Condition Good Live Take World
Whether we or our politicians know it or not, Nature is party to all our deals and decisions, and she has more votes, a longer memory, and a sterner sense of justice than we do.
WENDELL BERRY

All Deal Deciosn Know More Nature Out Party Politician Vote Whether
Prayer is like lying awake at night, afraid, with your head under the cover, hearing only the beating of your own heart.
WENDELL BERRY

Afraid Awake Beat Cover Head Hear Heart Lying Own Prayer
When you are new at sheep-raising and your ewe has a lamb, your impulse is to stay there and help it nurse and see to it and all. After a while, you know that the best thing you can do is walk out of the barn.
WENDELL BERRY

All Help Impulse IT Lamb New Nurse Raise See Sheep Stay When
The ecosystems, the ecosphere, those are good gifts.
WENDELL BERRY

Ecosphere Ecosystem Gift Good
The old and honorable idea of ‘vocation’ is simply that we each are called, by God, or by our gifts, or by our preference, to a kind of good work for which we are particularly fitted.
WENDELL BERRY

Call Each Gift God Honorable Idea Kind Old Our Preference Simply Vocation
All right, every day ain’t going to be the best day of your life, don’t worry about that. If you stick to it you hold the possibility open that you will have better days.
WENDELL BERRY

All Best Day Every Go Life Open Possible Right Stick Worry

The old and honorable idea of ‘vocation’ is simply that we each are called, by God, or by our gifts, or by our preference, to a kind of good work for which we are particularly fitted.

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The old and honorable idea of ‘vocation’ is simply that we each are called, by God, or by our gifts, or by our preference, to a kind of good work for which we are particularly fitted.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

More Wendell Berry Quotes