Man, great essay! There’s so much here to explore. I really hate how much baby has been thrown out with the bath water in Christianity regarding nature. I’ll never forget the day it dawned on me that the natural is essentially enchanted for lack of a better term (or maybe that’s the right term) either way, it’s hard to deny
If you believe in nature as the Creation it is literally a supreme enchantment. You are right about the baby and bathwater. I think the dominionist theologies who reduce nature to something to be dominated are responsible for a lot of what got thrown away, but there are other theologies and interpretations.
Great essay on Gary Snyder and Romantic Revival. I think your unpacking of his advice for bardic practice is especially important today as modern life is in many ways incompatible. Some balance has to be struck between hermitage (which you know I'm certainly a fan of!) and society, and unfortunately it's up to us as individuals to find that balance. I'm still very much working on mine.
Finding the balance is super tricky. As you mentioned in relation to hermitages, the boundaries between coming and going are important, and we haven’t been able to get any kind of good boundaries around the technology in modern life. So finding ways to put down boundaries and then look backwards to see what can be retrieved is very important.
I spent a week camping, cabining, visiting family with my wife last week and wasn’t online much, and we watched no TV. It was great how my head filled with stories that I want to tell while we were in the woods. Turning off is tuning in.
Indeed it is and good for you. Sounds like an ideal way to spend the summer. (And that would make an excellent t-shirt; I may have to look into this. :)
This was an excellent essay and there is so much to unpack! Have added both books mentioned here to my TBR list and will take this essay and Synder's poem to my meditation practice. 🙏🏻💙💚🦋
I really appreciate the kind words Michelle! Snyder’s poems and essays are worth spending a lot of time with & I think you will enjoy reading the books. Each of the lines I wrote about contains huge amounts of work if we take them on do what Snyder calls “the real work.” Peace to you in your meditations!
Man, great essay! There’s so much here to explore. I really hate how much baby has been thrown out with the bath water in Christianity regarding nature. I’ll never forget the day it dawned on me that the natural is essentially enchanted for lack of a better term (or maybe that’s the right term) either way, it’s hard to deny
If you believe in nature as the Creation it is literally a supreme enchantment. You are right about the baby and bathwater. I think the dominionist theologies who reduce nature to something to be dominated are responsible for a lot of what got thrown away, but there are other theologies and interpretations.
Thanks for having a read, Jon!
Great essay on Gary Snyder and Romantic Revival. I think your unpacking of his advice for bardic practice is especially important today as modern life is in many ways incompatible. Some balance has to be struck between hermitage (which you know I'm certainly a fan of!) and society, and unfortunately it's up to us as individuals to find that balance. I'm still very much working on mine.
Thanks for taking the time to read it James.
Finding the balance is super tricky. As you mentioned in relation to hermitages, the boundaries between coming and going are important, and we haven’t been able to get any kind of good boundaries around the technology in modern life. So finding ways to put down boundaries and then look backwards to see what can be retrieved is very important.
I spent a week camping, cabining, visiting family with my wife last week and wasn’t online much, and we watched no TV. It was great how my head filled with stories that I want to tell while we were in the woods. Turning off is tuning in.
Indeed it is and good for you. Sounds like an ideal way to spend the summer. (And that would make an excellent t-shirt; I may have to look into this. :)
This was an excellent essay and there is so much to unpack! Have added both books mentioned here to my TBR list and will take this essay and Synder's poem to my meditation practice. 🙏🏻💙💚🦋
I really appreciate the kind words Michelle! Snyder’s poems and essays are worth spending a lot of time with & I think you will enjoy reading the books. Each of the lines I wrote about contains huge amounts of work if we take them on do what Snyder calls “the real work.” Peace to you in your meditations!
These look really interesting. I am not familiar with this author.