"Ask the world to reveal it's quietude-- not the silence of machines when they are still, but the true quiet by which birdsongs, trees, bellworts, snails, clouds, storms become what they are, and are nothing else."
~Wendell Berry, from III, Sabbaths 2001, in Given
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"Go quietly, Carry little."
Poetry, quotations, personal reflections from a lover of the wilderness, a lover of the silence....
Poetry, quotations, personal reflections from a lover of the wilderness, a lover of the silence....
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More About Me
Wisdom?/Humor?/Reality?/Hope.
"More than any time in history mankind faces a crossroads. One path leads to despair and utter hopelessness, the other to total extinction. Let us pray that we have the wisdom to choose correctly." ~Woody Allen
"Things are going to get a lot worse before they get worse." ~Lily Tomlin
"We must face the prospect of changing our basic ways of living. This change will either be made on our own initiative in a planned way, or forced on us with chaos and suffering by the inexorable laws of nature." ~Jimmy Carter
One final paragraph of advice: do not burn yourselves out. Be as I am — a reluctant enthusiast... a part-time crusader, a half-hearted fanatic. Save the other half of yourselves and your lives for pleasure and adventure. It is not enough to fight for the land; it is even more important to enjoy it. While you can. While it’s still here. So get out there and hunt and fish and mess around with your friends, ramble out yonder and explore the forests, climb the mountains, bag the peaks, run the rivers, breathe deep of that yet sweet and lucid air, sit quietly for a while and contemplate the precious stillness, the lovely, mysterious, and awesome space. Enjoy yourselves, keep your brain in your head and your head firmly attached to the body, the body active and alive, and I promise you this much; I promise you this one sweet victory over our enemies, over those desk-bound men and women with their hearts in a safe deposit box, and their eyes hypnotized by desk calculators. I promise you this; You will outlive the bastards." ~Edward Abbey, from a speech to environmentalists in Missoula, Montana in 1978 and in Colorado, which was published in High Country News under the title "Joy, Shipmates, Joy."
"What I fear most is despair
for the world and us: forever less
of beauty, silence, open air,
gratitude, unbidden happiness,
affection, unegotistical desire
~Wendell Berry, from IX, Sabbaths 1998, in Given
"Things are going to get a lot worse before they get worse." ~Lily Tomlin
"We must face the prospect of changing our basic ways of living. This change will either be made on our own initiative in a planned way, or forced on us with chaos and suffering by the inexorable laws of nature." ~Jimmy Carter
One final paragraph of advice: do not burn yourselves out. Be as I am — a reluctant enthusiast... a part-time crusader, a half-hearted fanatic. Save the other half of yourselves and your lives for pleasure and adventure. It is not enough to fight for the land; it is even more important to enjoy it. While you can. While it’s still here. So get out there and hunt and fish and mess around with your friends, ramble out yonder and explore the forests, climb the mountains, bag the peaks, run the rivers, breathe deep of that yet sweet and lucid air, sit quietly for a while and contemplate the precious stillness, the lovely, mysterious, and awesome space. Enjoy yourselves, keep your brain in your head and your head firmly attached to the body, the body active and alive, and I promise you this much; I promise you this one sweet victory over our enemies, over those desk-bound men and women with their hearts in a safe deposit box, and their eyes hypnotized by desk calculators. I promise you this; You will outlive the bastards." ~Edward Abbey, from a speech to environmentalists in Missoula, Montana in 1978 and in Colorado, which was published in High Country News under the title "Joy, Shipmates, Joy."
"What I fear most is despair
for the world and us: forever less
of beauty, silence, open air,
gratitude, unbidden happiness,
affection, unegotistical desire
~Wendell Berry, from IX, Sabbaths 1998, in Given
Followers
And it's within that space of "true quiet" where peace is revealed, isn't it...?
ReplyDeleteThis is a beautiful and worthy "prayer".
I am writing this one down. It makes my heart sigh.
ReplyDeleteI'm gonna be contrary and note that we might also observe the true quiet by which the roar of machines, the clattering of keys, and the chirping of the radio reveal themselves as full members of our rich and complex world.
ReplyDeleteWhew!
Val,
ReplyDeleteI think so....
Molly,
I am glad. Good to see you here. Thank you.
Barry,
I hear you. And as I keep practicing, I find I am better able to do just that. It's still a struggle though much if the time. :)
I'll keep practicing. Thanks for being here, my sage friend.
I think true quiet comes when one is at peace with oneself and the world. Not a state I'm in as much as I would like these days, I'm afraid.
ReplyDeleteI just happened to come across this quote:
ReplyDeleteSociety speaks and all men listen, mountains speak and wise men listen.
~John Muir
and it made me think of your post.
:-)
Barry,
ReplyDeleteI respectfully suggest that you may be missing Mr. Berry's point.
Amy,
Wow, that is a great quote from Muir. And I would add that wisdom - no matter our position, status, or take on life - is something each of has the ability to attain...
SW,
ReplyDeleteThank you. Worth pondering.
Amy,
Very cool. Thank you for dropping that Muir snippet in here.
Val,
You go! :)
Thanks everybody for reading, pondering. commenting...caring.
Val, it wouldn't surprise me if I was missing the point of nearly everything! Thanks for asking for another look.
ReplyDeleteIsn't true, Val, in the spirit of Mr. Berry's statement, that one can also allow the roar of machines, the clattering of keys and the chirping of the radio to be what they are, and are nothing else?
ReplyDeleteWhile the external peace of the natural environment is extremely healing, isn't it ultimately the inner silence, the standing before God (as some would say) as one is and nothing else that we seek?
Barry,
ReplyDeleteI think we ALL miss the point of most everything most of the damn time.
: )
Barbara,
hmmm....
No, I don't think that's what he's saying. At least that's not how I interpret it. But alas, for the one intent of the author there are hundreds of interpretations by readers... and THAT is the beauty of good prose.
Thanks - truly - for the discussion.
: )
And, by the way...
ReplyDeleteDid anybody notice my complete contradiction with myself in my exchange with Barry and Barbara?
It reminds me of a little something I heard somewhere...
Do I contradict myself?
Very well then I contradict myself,
(I am large, I contain multitudes.)
-Walt Whitman
It's good to be me...I just feel sorry for you guys having to put up with it....
: )