Quotes to remember and repeat on Sanibel Island

Sanibel Island is a nature island, a green island, a tropical island.

It is the kind of place where dreams are realized and memories made.

Though not necessarily named, poets, philosophers, writers, artists and photographers have taken inspiration from destinations like Sanibel century after century and from around the world.

There are many beautiful words written about lands like Sanibel, and we would like to share a few with you.  And if you are so inspired, we would love to hear from you about quotes you have found that remind you of our beckoning barrier island. 

One of our favorite quotations is from Douglas Adams in his humorous treatise, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.  We love the way he sees things, just as we, too, see them so specially on Sanibel.  For example, he fully realizes that while man mistakenly thinks of himself as the superior species, it is clearly the dolphins who live the better life:

"For instance, on the planet Earth, man had always assumed that he was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so much-the wheel, New York, wars and so on-whilst all the dolphins had ever done was muck about in the water having a good time. But conversely, the dolphins had always believed that they were far more intelligent than man-for precisely the same reasons."

 

Of course, you have to see it to believe it, but any one who has watched the dolphin ballet on Sanibel knows full well that the dolphins are having the time of their lives!

 

And there are endless verses singing the praises of seashells, a product of Sanibel that every vacationer finds in abundance.  We particularly like this emotive stanza from one of Amy Lowell's poems:

 

"Sea Shell, Sea Shell,
Sing me a song, O Please!
A song of ships, and sailor men
And parrots, and tropical trees."

 

And this quote by the recognized genius of our times, Albert Einstein, puts into perspective the love and caring we have for the creatures who inhabit Sanibel Island: "Our task must be to free ourselves by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty."

 

And Sanibel embraces all of nature, and all of those who see the true value of living in nature ... or just vacationing in nature.