Sand

"Reflecting its potential fluidity and fickleness, sand, as the quintessential granular material, has become a symbol of instability and impermanence. The biblical admonition against building a house on sand may be exaggerated."

"It has been estimated that on the order of a billion sand grains are born around the world every second."

"The sand grain is anonymous, waiting for rain and wind to sweep it away on an endless journey, to demonstrate its durability while its weaker companions fall by the way side. But it is called sand not because of what it is made of or its origins, bit because of how big it is."

"Sand is somewhat like beauty – we know it when we see it, or touch it, but it seems difficult to describe."

"Sand grains comes in variety of shapes, which can make measuring its size quite tricky."

"There are countless sand collectors around the world, and there have been for a long time. …Sand collectors call themselves as arenophiles or “sand lovers”- a mixture of Latin and Greek. The word arena derives from the ancient Roman habit of covering the ground in amphitheaters with sand (harena or arena in Latin) – to soak up blood. The pure Greek would be psammophile, and some sand collectors use this but it is commonly used also to describe plants and creatures that are sand-loving, forging a livelihood among the grains."

"And it stood still upon the sand of the sea. And I saw a wild beast ascending out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, and upon its horns ten diadems, but upon its heads blasphemous names. Now the wild beast that I saw was like a leopard, but its feet were as those of a bear, and its mouth was as a lion’s mouth. And the dragon gave to [the beast] its power and its throne and great authority."

"A single grain of sand can have an influence far out of proportion to its size, but when it gathers together with vast numbers of its colleagues, very strange things can indeed happen."

"...the noise made by a single grain of sand moving with the waves is one of a series of tiny perceptions that we accumulate to hear the roar of the ocean."

"To see a world in a grain of sand/And a heaven in a wild flower."

"The mine which Time has slowly dug beneath familiar objects is sprung in an instant; and what was rock before, becomes but sand and dust."

"For nature is the noblest engineer, yet uses a grinding economy working up all that is wasted to-day in to to-marrows creation;not a superfluous grain of sand for all ostentation she makes of expense and public works."

"There are as many stars in the universe as all the grains of sand in the beaches of the world."

"The huge variety of sand grains is astounding, and each one has a story to tell."

"Examining sand grains through the microscope is a wonderful way to find out about the biology, and ecology of the local environment."

"Every grain of sand is a jewel waiting to be discovered. ... When we walk along a beach, we tread upon millions of years of biological and geological history."

"A wise man can pick up a grain of sand and envision a whole universe."

"Unhappy they who raise their hopes upon the shifting sand."

"History is a child building a sand castle by the sea and that child is the whole majesty of man’s power in the world."

"And so castle made of sand fall into the sea, eventually."

"If you speak ill of another do not speak it...write it in the sand near the water’s edge."

"Who could ever calculate the path of a molecule? How do we know the creations of worlds are not determined by falling grains of sand?"

"I wrote my name upon the sand; I thought I wrote it on thine heart. I had no touch of fear, that words, Such words, so graven, could depart."

"You may smile at the fanciful structures I rear, And say, that my castles are built but on sand ; Like bubbles, that on the blue waters appear, That sparkle, invite, and then sink from the hand."

"...the entire universe was there within a grain for our understanding."

"The sand (Hindi: mitti) in the arena is especially holy to them. In Benares it [sand] comes from the Ganges and is mixed with Ganges water, mustard oil, and turmeric in order to keep it soft and supple. On special occasions, milk and clarified butter (ghi) are also added. The ground must be turned, loosened, and renewed periodically. Only the master (Hindi:ustad) is allowed to enter the new sand after he has honoured it with flowers and incense. The young men not only rub themselves with sand, they also wallow in it. Sand is the balm for their heroism."

"The more sand that has escaped from the hourglass of our life, the clearer we should see through it."

"It isn’t the mountain ahead that wears you out – it is the grain of sand in your shoe."

"Be master of your petty annoyances and conserve your energies for the big, worthwhile things. It isn’t the mountain ahead that wears you out – it’s the grain of sand in your shoe."

"The crust of a tan man imbibed by the sand; soaking up the thirst of the land."

"I don't like sand. It's coarse, and rough, and irritating, and it gets everywhere."

"For Look! Within my hallow hand, While round the earth careens, I hold a single grain of sand And wonder what it means. Ah! If I had the eyes to see, And brain to understand, I think the Life’s mystery might be Solved in the grain of sand."

"The birth of a sand grain is a microscopic event, a flap of butterfly’s wings heralding greater change and a larger creation. Each grain carries the equivalent of the DNA of its parents and develops a character through its life and is moulded partly by its environment. Compared to the scale of a human life, however, the sand grains’ story is never ending, and rebirth is a regular event."

"Close to 70 percent of all sand grains on the earth are made of quartz."

"The sand grain has become a symbol of permanence and fragility of our – and - nature’s works."

"Wie Sand am Meer"

"Wenn aus Sehnsucht nach der Kába// du der Wüste Sand Betrittst,// traure nicht! Wenn auch durch Dorne// du Verletzungen erlittst."

"Um die Welt in einem Sandkorn zu sehn // und den Himmel in einer wilden Blume, // halte die Unendlichkeit auf deiner flachen Hand // und die Stunde rückt in die Ewigkeit."

"Seid unbequem, seid Sand, nicht das Öl im Getriebe der Welt!"

"Du bist der Sand im Getriebe der Gedankenmaschine."