Oh my God, James! I want to throw my arms around you to thank you for taking the considerable time it takes to make a gift like this and then share it.
God bless you, young man.
Said by a wise elder woman who needs to be reminded that nature shows us the entire process of life, not just the part that’s new life, but what happens as we age, too. It’s not a mistake that my body continues to change — despite the cascade of images of “youth” the culture keeps pouring on us — it’s the nature of life itself to experience the changes I’m experiencing. And I don’t need to be afraid or upset about them.
Well done! All that you wrote settles around and within with such ease and comfort. Thank you for putting into words what some of us still intuitively feel about ourselves and the Universe we exist in. We, meaning everything, are all connected in ways that will never be described, but is known at our deepest levels of being. Thank you.
Thank you, James, for putting this together so beautifully. Self-similarity at different scales, and a window onto the bigger Self of which all things are unique expressions.
Oh my. "You are not broken. You're just far from home." Captivated from the first line. I am grateful, James, for these exquisite reminders and your exquisite prose, we are not separate from nature, the universe, one another, but are one with it all. And nothing reinforces that feeling of connection than being outdoors, in nature. The visual reminders you shared were simply gorgeous as well and impactful in ways I am still processing. My home is filled with little treasures I've collected from the natural world...a leaf, stones, seed pods, a shell or small piece of driftwood...If I must be inside, it comforts me to be surrounded by such treasures...Thank you, seems like such a small thing, but its not, is it....Thank you.
Likewise, elements of Nature seem reflected in the human sphere these days, like the delicate balance [and robust dance] between the collective (species) and the individual, and always, the Earth reflected in our human psyche: the desert expansive, the mountain heroic, the ocean mysterious, the forest lush.
All these reflections between our bodies and Nature and our emotions and this Earth call to us. Your article reminded me to heed that call. Thank you, sir.
I guess it's a problem that you cannot miss what you never have known or experienced. I was born 1957, and my childhood consisted of lots of "unhelicoptered" afternoons with other kids in the gardens of our neighborhood ("Come home when it gets dark!"), being told to offer my seat to others and greet politely, playing board games with my four siblings and my parents, harvesting our own vegetables and working during the summer holidays for earning a bit extra pocket money to buy my first cassette tape deck. This taught me/us to value all we had. And in the later years, realizing that not all children were so lucky, it taught me not to take everything for granted and value it even more. This comparison by own experience of what once has been and what is lost now is a big loss in itself.
I’m also a ‘57 model! My old soul has always known this connection. As a rural or small town dweller my whole life, I have always felt grounded, rooted, and at one with nature. I really loved this article.
I live in Kansas, USA. Reischman is my married name. My husband’s paternal ancestors are from Germany. My maiden name is Hummelgaard, paternal ancestors from Denmark and Sweden. Our roots are very European. Wish we could travel overseas and see it all.
Beautifully written James Lucas! Thank you for sharing this so more people on this earth may read it and know!
Needed to read this. Thank you. 🙏
So gorgeously perfect. Thanks for sharing.
Breathtaking, I'll never forget this!
Wow… This article is captivating! It presents an amazing analogy illustrating the bond between humanity and nature.
Oh my God, James! I want to throw my arms around you to thank you for taking the considerable time it takes to make a gift like this and then share it.
God bless you, young man.
Said by a wise elder woman who needs to be reminded that nature shows us the entire process of life, not just the part that’s new life, but what happens as we age, too. It’s not a mistake that my body continues to change — despite the cascade of images of “youth” the culture keeps pouring on us — it’s the nature of life itself to experience the changes I’m experiencing. And I don’t need to be afraid or upset about them.
Well done! All that you wrote settles around and within with such ease and comfort. Thank you for putting into words what some of us still intuitively feel about ourselves and the Universe we exist in. We, meaning everything, are all connected in ways that will never be described, but is known at our deepest levels of being. Thank you.
Thank you, James, for putting this together so beautifully. Self-similarity at different scales, and a window onto the bigger Self of which all things are unique expressions.
Oh my. "You are not broken. You're just far from home." Captivated from the first line. I am grateful, James, for these exquisite reminders and your exquisite prose, we are not separate from nature, the universe, one another, but are one with it all. And nothing reinforces that feeling of connection than being outdoors, in nature. The visual reminders you shared were simply gorgeous as well and impactful in ways I am still processing. My home is filled with little treasures I've collected from the natural world...a leaf, stones, seed pods, a shell or small piece of driftwood...If I must be inside, it comforts me to be surrounded by such treasures...Thank you, seems like such a small thing, but its not, is it....Thank you.
Wonderful writing reminder!
Likewise, elements of Nature seem reflected in the human sphere these days, like the delicate balance [and robust dance] between the collective (species) and the individual, and always, the Earth reflected in our human psyche: the desert expansive, the mountain heroic, the ocean mysterious, the forest lush.
All these reflections between our bodies and Nature and our emotions and this Earth call to us. Your article reminded me to heed that call. Thank you, sir.
Wonderful. And somehow deeply reassuring.
What we have always been, only so late learned. Thank you.
That's such a beautiful and true article.
I guess it's a problem that you cannot miss what you never have known or experienced. I was born 1957, and my childhood consisted of lots of "unhelicoptered" afternoons with other kids in the gardens of our neighborhood ("Come home when it gets dark!"), being told to offer my seat to others and greet politely, playing board games with my four siblings and my parents, harvesting our own vegetables and working during the summer holidays for earning a bit extra pocket money to buy my first cassette tape deck. This taught me/us to value all we had. And in the later years, realizing that not all children were so lucky, it taught me not to take everything for granted and value it even more. This comparison by own experience of what once has been and what is lost now is a big loss in itself.
I’m also a ‘57 model! My old soul has always known this connection. As a rural or small town dweller my whole life, I have always felt grounded, rooted, and at one with nature. I really loved this article.
Hello Lisa, may I ask where you are from? I live in Heidelberg/Germany and your name sounds as if you have roots in Europe, too.
I live in Kansas, USA. Reischman is my married name. My husband’s paternal ancestors are from Germany. My maiden name is Hummelgaard, paternal ancestors from Denmark and Sweden. Our roots are very European. Wish we could travel overseas and see it all.
Thank you! "There's No Place Like Home” - and home is where your heart is ;-))
Leonardo could see across boundaries and was actually a systems thinker.
Fritjof Capra wrote a book about this.
Maybe the most important fractal resemblance—humans and trees.
Legs, feet, and toes like roots.
Arms, hands, and fingers like branches.
"Trunk" between the two.
More importantly, from my perspective, they both join heaven and earth, as an axis mundi.
https://km678.substack.com/p/psalm-1
So beautiful and feels so real!
Thank you!