January 18th, 2021

QOTD

“Wilderness is not a luxury but a necessity of the human spirit, and as vital to our lives as water and good bread. A civilization which destroys what little remains of the wild, the spare, the original, is cutting itself off from its origins and betraying the principle of civilization itself.”
― Edward Abbey, Desert Solitaire

Cutting down the cultural vine

How far back can you trace your ancestry?

If you're lucky, a few hundred years.

Same.

I might say, so what! It's not as if we've carried much, if anything, of their wisdom into the 21st Century; but perhaps that's a generalisation too far.

Or is it?

How long could we survive absent money?

Or our mobile phone 🤣?

In yesterday's post, I shared with your a few details from James Hillman's book and mentioned the other book that I'm listening to: The Unlikely Peace at Cuchumaquic: The Parallel Lives of People as Plants: Keeping the Seeds Alive by Martín Prechtel. The clue, apropos today's little riff, is in Martín's exhortation to keep the cultural seeds alive.

But how can we when we don't know what they are? 

In my case, that would involve a deep dive into the wilds of Devon to try and find the peoples and their traditions that gave birth to my generation — give or take the odd struggle with the Roman Empire. To be honest, save one person who's native to these parts and holds himself out in the indigenous space, I can't think of where I might do my cultural digging.

Do you see the problem?

I do. 

In spades.

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My tweets

  • Sun, 12:36: Anyone on @tumblr I should be following?
  • Sun, 12:37: The fire is on, I'll be doing some journaling this afternoon and reading, hopefully, the rest of James Hillman's book. You?
  • Sun, 13:00: “As a child I felt myself to be alone, and I am still, because I know things and must hint at things which others apparently know nothing of, and for the most part do not want to know.” ― Carl Gustav Jung, Memories, Dreams, Reflections
  • Sun, 13:32: William Blake https://t.co/zazDn6dsf5
  • Sun, 14:01: My @tumblr page/ poetry only (and a few pictures here and there). https://t.co/s0PmOBEq4b https://t.co/OZLv95KhEC
  • Sun, 14:48: Anyone remember watching The Prisoner with Patrick McGoohan?
  • Sun, 16:52: Checking out sustainable men's clothing brands. Apart from @FinisterreUK and @patagonia there doesn't appear much but in any event, the prices are eye-watering - worth every penny I'm sure.
  • Sun, 17:12: The thing about being around old people is that very often you don't appreciate the wisdom they're offering you. In my case, I wish I could go back and talk to my grandparents and great-grandparents. I know I'd learn so, so much.
  • Sun, 17:53: Talking with Mrs S about going to church. I'm not religious but I do miss the silence and contemplative space.
  • Sun, 18:04: Is there a timetable for @JoeBiden inauguration?
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