Thanks so much for this post in which you basically summarize what so many of us are feeling - enraged, hopeless and helpless playing on repeat. A good reminder to step off the hamster wheel of life and seek solace elsewhere.
Reading this through a soft rain of tears, with the gradual appearance of a sunbeam to the end…a good reminder to disconnect. I am fortunate to spend summers on the small Maine island of my childhood where I do exactly that.
It is, as you point out, almost impossible to live in the natural world without depth perception! We need two eyes for that. Not to mention peripheral vision and not bumping into things, as I do often with two eyes. To be fully in nature we also need to feel the breeze, sort of like a cat uses its whiskers to sense its location. I have noted that one of our cats likes to drink water from a wide vase that I keep on our table. She enjoys jumping onto the table (naughty!) and breaking the house rules. I always recoil at the way some cultures restrict the lives of women and never men...who commit most crime against women and the world in general! Here's to peace and quite and rejuvenation. Enjoy yours.
This was both lovely and true. We have been in Weekapaug for 10 days of family, friends, beach, and birds. And, other than the occasional tap of a finger on my newsfeed to see if anything had gone wildly north or south out there, I basically steered clear of emails and the news. Hitting the balance between info awareness, possible personal action, and preserving health and sanity through immersion in nature and stillness is a necessary challenge.
After looking at Bluesky, I thought I'd lessen my anxiety by scrolling through Bergdorf's 40% online sale--as if I didn't know that 40% of $1,500 is exorbitant--then read your piece and am heading outside. I am beholdin' to you.
What a beautiful post, Alice. It reminds me of the feeling and the messages of Orbital by Samantha Harvey - writing that makes you a better person for having read it.
This essay is refreshing as a slice of cold watermelon on a heat dome day. I, perhaps like many others, need to be reminded, that it’s my choice to have news notifications ding and that to pick up my phone and check the latest outrage is also a choice. I can stop this and still be an involved and responsible citizen—I don’t need to know everything the minute it’s reported. Thank you so much for this beautifully-expressed post.
Thank you for this measured and important reminder of how crucial solitude and nature are to our sanity and, even, survival. We want to be involved and responsible, but in order to do so, we have to keep ourselves in balance and centered. Not easy!
I tried to verify this quote and couldn’t come up with anything recent, but found articles going back as far as 2008 quoting this interpretation of Sharia law. The veil has a name, niqāb. Wow, I learned something new—
Then I stepped outside and breathed the deliciously wet, fragrant summer air, filled with birdsong. This is so beautifully written— thank you for making my day less compressed and fraught.
Alice, I'm glad to have found your words of wisdom. Thanks to Elissa Altman. Good Sunday morning.
Thanks so much for this post in which you basically summarize what so many of us are feeling - enraged, hopeless and helpless playing on repeat. A good reminder to step off the hamster wheel of life and seek solace elsewhere.
Alice your substack is a tuning fork to the natural world and to a deeper wisdom inside. Thank you.
Breathing. Thank you Alice for your words of wisdom.
Reading this through a soft rain of tears, with the gradual appearance of a sunbeam to the end…a good reminder to disconnect. I am fortunate to spend summers on the small Maine island of my childhood where I do exactly that.
It is, as you point out, almost impossible to live in the natural world without depth perception! We need two eyes for that. Not to mention peripheral vision and not bumping into things, as I do often with two eyes. To be fully in nature we also need to feel the breeze, sort of like a cat uses its whiskers to sense its location. I have noted that one of our cats likes to drink water from a wide vase that I keep on our table. She enjoys jumping onto the table (naughty!) and breaking the house rules. I always recoil at the way some cultures restrict the lives of women and never men...who commit most crime against women and the world in general! Here's to peace and quite and rejuvenation. Enjoy yours.
This was both lovely and true. We have been in Weekapaug for 10 days of family, friends, beach, and birds. And, other than the occasional tap of a finger on my newsfeed to see if anything had gone wildly north or south out there, I basically steered clear of emails and the news. Hitting the balance between info awareness, possible personal action, and preserving health and sanity through immersion in nature and stillness is a necessary challenge.
Alice, thank you. This feels like the redirect I've been craving, but I needed your words about it.
After looking at Bluesky, I thought I'd lessen my anxiety by scrolling through Bergdorf's 40% online sale--as if I didn't know that 40% of $1,500 is exorbitant--then read your piece and am heading outside. I am beholdin' to you.
What a beautiful post, Alice. It reminds me of the feeling and the messages of Orbital by Samantha Harvey - writing that makes you a better person for having read it.
This essay is refreshing as a slice of cold watermelon on a heat dome day. I, perhaps like many others, need to be reminded, that it’s my choice to have news notifications ding and that to pick up my phone and check the latest outrage is also a choice. I can stop this and still be an involved and responsible citizen—I don’t need to know everything the minute it’s reported. Thank you so much for this beautifully-expressed post.
Thank you for this measured and important reminder of how crucial solitude and nature are to our sanity and, even, survival. We want to be involved and responsible, but in order to do so, we have to keep ourselves in balance and centered. Not easy!
Amen
“Women only need one eye.”
I tried to verify this quote and couldn’t come up with anything recent, but found articles going back as far as 2008 quoting this interpretation of Sharia law. The veil has a name, niqāb. Wow, I learned something new—
Then I stepped outside and breathed the deliciously wet, fragrant summer air, filled with birdsong. This is so beautifully written— thank you for making my day less compressed and fraught.
Thank you, Alice. I am breathing. I am listening to birds. And I am not holding my breath.
This beautiful piece really touched a chord for me. Just what I needed today - thank you!