If everyone read this collection of short essays in school we'd have a much different relationship with nature then we currently do....

Interesting mix of environmentalism and Buddhism.

While well written this wasn't as full of emotion as I would have expected

el mejor libro que leí en el año

wise and inspiring

A deeply thought and deeply felt exploration of how to live on this beautiful planet. As relevant now as the day it was written.

This book is truly the perennial philosophy, applied to our time.

It says, (my own paraphrase), "Become a person of place! Dig in where you are; learn the people, animals, and plants. Love the water, air, and land. Know where it came from, and where it's going, and how it affects you and your family. Imbue the land with sentience and soul, and respect it foremost as your own life-blood." This is a call we are learning again, as it comes around, and it seems again in reach.

There are so many ways to heed and hear:

* study history: geological, natural, cultural
* seek field experience with plants and animals--lots of walking with "grandfather field guide"
* keep abreast of local land-use issues
* meditate: the universal commons of all creatures, the infinitely compassionate matrix of is-ness, the ultimate Home and Place of all
* grow a garden, subsist
* walk walk walk walk walk; bike bike bike bike bike... See the local people, animals, plants, and places.

An intense piece of writing, not without a sense of humor; a capsule of Snyder's thought and values. If you dig his poetry, this is a must read. No kidding.

makes me want to hike something

DNF at 56%

Gary Snyder combines his ideas of Buddhism with his notions of what is wild. I took many notes

There are two kinds of knowing.
One is that which grounds and places you in your actual condition. You know north from south, pine from fir, in which direction the new moon might be found, where the water comes from, where the garbage goes, how to shake hands, how to sharpen a knife, how interest rates work... The other kind of knowledge comes from straying outside. (p.190-191)

, I read this collection immediately after readng the The Forest Wars: The ugly truth about what's happening in our tall forests and note that the same levels of corruption occurred in the USA with a similar outcome. I'll write more when I'm back in town...

Un delicioso recorrido ensayístico por el amor a la naturaleza. Porque todos somos mitad oso, mitad humanos.

... es aconsejable estudiar todo el ciclo del agua; y es extraño y maravilloso saber que los glaciares no siempre fluyen y que las montañas caminan sin cesar.

p4-there will be enough pain in the world as it is. p8-supernatural is a name for phenomena which are reported by so few people as to leave their reality in doubt. p10-wild societies maintained by force of consensus and custom. p12-human beings came out of wholeness. p13-natural societies:people who lived without church or state. p16-the world is our consciousness.the conscious-agenda planning ego occupies a very tiny territory. p17-we cannot as individuals or even species take credit for language. p18-walking is the exact balance of spirit and humility. p19-to acknowledge that each of us at the table will eventually be part of the meal. p21-an ethical life is one that is mindful, mannerly, and has style. p23-we realize we have had nothing from the beginning. p24- "dress up and stay home." no expectations.