Consider a tree for a moment. As beautiful as trees are to look at, we don’t see what goes on underground – as they grow roots. Trees must develop deep roots in order to grow strong and produce their beauty. But we don’t see the roots. We just see and enjoy the beauty. In much the same way, what goes on inside of us is like the roots of a tree.

Not just beautiful, though – the stars are like the trees in the forest, alive and breathing. And they’re watching me.

Nothing is more beautiful than the loveliness of the woods before sunrise.

Look at flowers, butterflies, trees, and children with the eyes of compassion. Compassion will change your life and make it wonderful.

The most precious gift we can offer others is our presence. When mindfulness embraces those we love, they will bloom like flowers.

I am satisfied with the mystery of the eternity of life and with the awareness and a glimpse of the marvelous structure of the existing world, together with the devoted striving to comprehend a portion, be it ever so tiny, of the Reason that manifest itself in nature.

A human being is a part of a whole, called by us ‘universe’, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest… a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.

Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.

Make a lot of walks to get healthy and don’t read that much but save yourself some until you’re grown up.

What I see is a certain something, desolate and grey as infinity. I do not believe that the structure of the human brain is to be blamed for the fact that man cannot grasp infinity.

I sometimes ask myself how it came about that I was the one to develop the theory of relativity. The reason, I think, is that a normal adult never stops to think about problems of space and time. These are things which he has thought about as a child.

If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe, then man would have only four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man.

A spirit is manifest in the laws of the universe, a spirit vastly superior to that of man, and one in the face of which we with our modest powers must feel humble.

Space by itself, and time by itself, are doomed to fade away into mere shadows, and only a kind union of the two will preserve an independent reality.

Numerous are the wares that nature produces by the dozen, but her choice products are few.

Occurrences in this domain are beyond the reach of exact prediction because of the variety of factors in operation, not because of any lack of order in nature.

(On if his life was a success): Neither on my deathbed nor before will I ask myself such a question. Nature is not an engineer or a contractor, and I myself am a part of Nature.

The only reason for time is so that everything doesn’t happen at once.

Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.

My scientific work is motivated by an irresistible longing to understand the secrets of nature and by no other feelings. My love for justice and the striving to contribute towards the improvement of human conditions are quite independent from my scientific interests.

How wretchedly inadequate is the theoretical physicist as he stands before Nature, and before his students.

Joy in looking and comprehending is nature’s most beautiful gift.

One must take what nature gives as one finds it.

"Mountains are to the rest of the body of the earth, what violent muscular action is to the body of man. The muscles and tendons of its anatomy are, in the mountain, brought out with force and convulsive energy, full of expression, passion, and strength."