Leaves down, the Two Hundred Acre Wood is a different realm, and it provides us with tableaux of a different kind altogether: the boles of old cedars and knotty ironwoods, rail fences, conks and lichens, fallen leaves bleached to a transparent paleness, but frost edged and crackling under our hiking boots (and Spencer's dancing feet too), wisps of spider webbing festooning furrowed bark here and there.Am I tuning out the real world by walking in the groves and thickets of this world and seeing all this "stuff", then chronicling it? An urban acquaintance thinks that I am doing just that and said so this past week. I can't seem to get it across to her that this IS the real world, and it is magnificent.
To wander in the uncultivated places of the earth is to journey into the heart of existence and toward authenticity - toward one's wild, true (and perhaps shining) self. There is love at work here, tender, fierce and very protective.
9 comments:
Cate, when I read your entries I sense more and more that the small rustic cottage that I am in the process of planning on my country property is where I need to be.
I will be back where my heart and soul yearn for - in the middle of nature. Thank You.
Everyone has her own idea of "real." I'm with you.
Actually this cedar bole looks a bit like me, or rather, I look a bit like it.
With all due respect to your urban acquaintance, I think all too many of us are frightened of a world without chatter and constant input and need to denigrate the earth's elemental reality. Watching the news or walking city street can offer us a limited number of reactions (so often "scared" or "angry" or "stressed") while exploring nature leads to much more nuanced responses. How does one respond to a cedar bole with a single emotion after all?
I made a mistake and wanted to edit. I live very inner-urban and work in fields connected to human distress and loneliness. Your blog and the blogs of other nature lovers are wonderful to me. Sometimes I feel as if I accompany you and sweet Spencer on your morning rambles. Thanks for that!
it is so interesting, what we think the other is missing along life's journey. when i read this post i thought your aquaintance was missing out on real substance, mistaking the superficial "dressing up" of city life for the real deal. of course, she thinks just the opposite. both parts of life are the real world. the world - life - is all inclusive. each of us has our preferences. in choosing any ONE thing we miss parts of something else, some part of the whole.
i love where we live. we are near enough to the city that we can enjoy the wonders of urban living - fine dining, theatre, art, music, etc., in 20-30 mins., but we are at the foothills of the cascades where we are only moments away from wildlife, hiking trails, waterfalls, alpine lakes, rushing rivers, forests and so many of nature's gifts.
just call us greedy - we want it all!
I'd say your world is quite real. I consider it the real world. The rest of it all feels like sturm und drang.
once again, i am so grateful that my path has crossed yours. thank you for the sip of fresh water...
take care.
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