"Earth teach me to forget myself as melted snow forgets its life. Earth teach me resignation as the leaves which die in the fall. Earth teach me courage as the tree which stands all alone. Earth teach me regeneration as the seed which rises in the spring"
About this Quote
What makes the passage work is its calibrated escalation from surrender to agency. The first two asks are acts of subtraction: forget the self, accept the inevitable. Then Alexander pivots. "Courage" arrives not as triumph but as endurance: a lone tree standing, exposed, not protected by community or narrative payoff. That loneliness is the subtextual cost of integrity. Finally, "regeneration" offers the only genuine promise, but it’s conditional and delayed. The seed rises "in the spring" because it first disappears underground. Renewal isn’t a makeover; it’s a cycle that requires burial, waiting, and faith in timing you can’t control.
Contextually, it reads like a modern writer borrowing the cadence of devotional language to articulate a secular spirituality: the earth as teacher when institutions, ideologies, or personal ambition fail to provide stability. The intent isn’t to romanticize nature, but to steal its logic: stop clinging, stand anyway, start again.
Quote Details
| Topic | Nature |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Alexander, William. (2026, January 16). Earth teach me to forget myself as melted snow forgets its life. Earth teach me resignation as the leaves which die in the fall. Earth teach me courage as the tree which stands all alone. Earth teach me regeneration as the seed which rises in the spring. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/earth-teach-me-to-forget-myself-as-melted-snow-119587/
Chicago Style
Alexander, William. "Earth teach me to forget myself as melted snow forgets its life. Earth teach me resignation as the leaves which die in the fall. Earth teach me courage as the tree which stands all alone. Earth teach me regeneration as the seed which rises in the spring." FixQuotes. January 16, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/earth-teach-me-to-forget-myself-as-melted-snow-119587/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"Earth teach me to forget myself as melted snow forgets its life. Earth teach me resignation as the leaves which die in the fall. Earth teach me courage as the tree which stands all alone. Earth teach me regeneration as the seed which rises in the spring." FixQuotes, 16 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/earth-teach-me-to-forget-myself-as-melted-snow-119587/. Accessed 10 Feb. 2026.
