the spring is here! and it doesn't matter that i was having a snowball fight with my family on easter sunday. you can smell the change in the air.
last year at this time i was living in camden new jersey. i tried to take daily walks and it seemed like i could never walk far enough to get away from "city". it was endless. one city lead to the next. the most peaceful place i could find that was actually a little bit like being around green, living things was a large cemetery (where walt whitman happens to be buried). other places i've stayed have been in areas where the suburbs seem endless, which is even worse because in the suburbs the residents act very suspicious of a stranger walking through their streets.
but i don't think any place i've lived in jackson has been without some area within walking distance where i could go to be in "nature", with several other places an easy bike ride away, and several other places a short drive. the three houses i lived in with my parents, each in a different zip code, all had close by woods. even when i lived in apartments downtown i could always walk the tracks and find some trees or fields somewhere, or go over to ella sharp park. of course sometimes there is not an official park or nature area near by and getting into some woods means trespassing. but i always think of woody guthrie's song "this land is your land" and the verse that says:
"there was a big high wall there/ it tried to stop me/ the sign was painted/ said 'private property'/ but on the back side/ it didn't say nothin/ this land was made for you and me."
the earth is the Lord's, not individual's who have pieces of paper that claim it is theirs, so if you are acting respectfully towards the creator and his creation then roam where you want to, despite what the signs say. because not only is it wonderful to immerse yourself in nature, and not only does God reveal himself through his creation, but we have an urgent need to reconnect ourselves to the natural world for so many reasons. humans were created as part of the natural world and separating ourselves from it has brought disastrous consequences for all of life on this planet. in some blogs to come i'll bring up more specifically why i think it is so urgent and necessary for us to reconnect to the earth and i'll talk about some ideas such as rewilding, anarcho-primitvism, the coming "crash", etc. but for now i just wanted to encourage anyone who may read this to get out into the "wild" wherever and whenever you can just because it is beautiful, and it is spring, and it will make you feel happy and healthy about your day.
as you can see to the right we've posted links to some "legal" parks we enjoy, and of course there are many more -sackrider hill, the bridge park, one of jackson's many fine lakes, etc. if you are ever looking for someone to go out with get ahold of us. we frequent places like these. -J.E.S.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment