My online journal where I share my interests in photography, nature, journaling, fountain pens, bicycling, coffee life, spirituality and the mystery of it all.
“There are some places so beautiful they can make a grown man break down and weep.”
Edward Abbey
It has been a rather cool day, a pleasant change from the past three weeks. I had blood draw last Friday and met with my hematologist this morning to go over those numbers. She was pleased with my numbers because they are stable. So all is good. They are working on the parking lot so we have had constant noise now for two days. The email said they will be done tomorrow. Seems man sure does enjoy their noise machines.
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
I mention on this blog quite often how vital it is for me to spend time outside the city limits to regain that something living in society seems to drain from me. And, those needed respites seem to have shorter intervals in between. So, it’s easy for me to relate to Ed’s quote and how prevalent it still is 54 years later. I worry for the wellbeing of our natural world and humanity itself. The separation between man and our natural world has been destructive and continues to widen. I am powerless to convince others of our situation so many are warning us about and for sure I’m unable to change them. I believe no laws and regulations will change them either, the change must come from within them. However, I can live my life as a message that spending time in nature is a necessity of the human spirit. Time in nature can show us how connected we all are. I can also voice my views here, and more than once. Maybe one person will hear and at least think about it. It could be that seed. Nature has so much to offer us physically, emotionally and spiritually.
“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
Not so sure about his promise but I can sure relate to the rest of what he says.
