A State of Mind? ...and more about "Home"

In my post of this morning I quoted Gary Snyder, and in a comment on that post, the "Dharma Bum" quoted Snyder back to me (and/or to Snyder himself) apparently in response to the way in which I took that Snyder quote which I had originally posted, apparently to offer another perspective on the matter from Snyder's own pen. At least, that's what I think the "Dharma Bum" was doing with his comment.... :)

Here are the two quotes again, for context. Both by Snyder. First the quote I posted:

"Nature is not a place to visit. It is home. "

And then Dharma Bum's perspective adding response:

"If you want to find nature, start where you are."

That second Snyder quotation reminded me of another Roderick Nash quotation:

"Forget size, terrain, the presence of wild animals, the absence of human technology--wilderness, ultimately is a state of mind. If you think a certain piece of country is wilderness, then it is wilderness--for you.... The dude from New York generally has very criteria for determining wilderness than does the grizzled Idaho prospector. But every wilderness experience is worthy of respect." (as quoted in Planetwalker)

In one way, I do agree with what Nash is saying here. But like any brief quotation taken from its context, it does not tell the whole story, just as the original Snyder quotation doe not tell the whole story, nor did my comment on it, and thus, Dharma Bum's response to offer a little more of the story. It is, of course, precisely because quotations are lifted from their context that they don't tell the whole story....

I do believe with every fiber of my being that, as Nash says, "every wilderness experience is worthy of respect." And it will be helpful to note that Nash spent most of his career as an educator trying to get "overcivilized" (as he called us) humans back in touch with something they had lost by disconnecting themselves from the natural world and living increasingly in artificiality.... Nash was particularly wont to emphasize, encourage, and praise, any and all movements in the direction of nature no matter how seemingly small....

And so do I. A thousand times yes.

That said, I will confess that when I originally posted the Snyder quotation that started this whole train of thought, I was in fact thinking of all the things that Nash said to forget: size, terrain, the presence of wild animals, the absence of human technology. I confess that I had in mind places like the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, or the Bob Marshall Wilderness, just to name a couple of such places that remain, places where one can still be immersed in a completely non-human environment. Or at least, the only "human environment" is yourself and the pieces of a human environment you bring with you. As you may know, I try to bring as little as possible when I go to the wilderness.... I confess that that was the "home" I was thinking of.... Yes, that's where I want to be....

Yes, it is vitally important that every wilderness experience be treated with respect...a sense of awe and beauty in all of life and in the everyday around us must be reclaimed.... And yes, it is important to emphasize, encourage, and praise any and all movement towards that reverence and awe .... Yes, "wilderness" is a "state of mind." But it is not only that. It is a real and disappearing entity. And that too must be emphasized. It is also vitally important to preserve the remaining large tracts of wilderness, for if that last wildness is lost...something of unspeakable value to human life and spirit (yes, even to those who go nowhere near the wilderness, though they may know it not, nor recognize its value to themselves or the planet) will be lost along with it. Perhaps it could be said that we will be more inclined to preserve the latter, if we have been continually cultivating the former. That is, if all of life and nature around us--even in cities--is treated with awe and respect for the life that it is and the life that it gives...then we may be less inclined to look at the last great tracts of wilderness in terms of "board feet" and "mineral resources" for example, merely to be exploited and turned to perishable cash, with no thought of a value that is deeper...and more ancient...or of what we might learn to be and become from nature....

I am rambling.

I was inspired by the original Snyder quotation as well as by Dharma Bum's Snyder response. And so, finding myself today stood up for an appointment and with a few free hours on my hands, I got out into "home," my little patch of "nature" and "wilderness" here in the city. Here's what "home" looks like today:

A snowy gulch down to the river.

All that white stuff behind the trees? That's the river...covered in snow. It always amazes me how transformed the landscape is in winter....





Looking at the Saint Paul shore.