Zoey Island for Into the Wild
Added 2019-06-15 21:19:13 +0000 UTCEvery trip into the forest yields some sort of surprise. A few weeks ago, maybe months at this point my perception of the passing of time is poor at best, Zoey came over to gather nettles and oyster mushrooms, and take some photos as well. I'm always drawn to the way the moss gathers on each branch, and in that same way I am drawn to the way it gathers on us as well quickly in our passing.
Its been 13 years since I read Walden, but I remember all the little things he noticed about his cabin from that first year, and now I am here on my own farm experiencing the same thing my first year living in the woods noticing, learning, and helping the forest to grow. The jarring thing about Walden for me was the books summary pointed out that the writing is Thoreau's experience of 2 years 2 months and 2 days living in his cabin, but the second year boils down to 1 sentence, which essentially states "and the 2nd year was much like the first"
I know our second year, and all our following years here will be radically different. In our world of artists people come and go. We meet we create, and one day their online identity, the person that they cultivated and grew may be gone. It is my job to learn this year, create what I can, and continue to seek new avenues of inspiration as the years pass. The forest renews itself and so too do the wells of creativity as long as neither are taxed too hard.
I know I am not Thoreau, but still it is easy to carry that worry that newness is the fountain from which creativity springs even though I have seen evidence to the contrary in other places we have called home.
