from
the sea (5) – coming home by freda karpf
What we are seeking is also seeking us. In
the world of the ancients, there were synchronicities and certainties. Every road has a journey and every journey
has a road. Yet at times neither our road nor our journeys are known. James Hillman wrote that “During deep
mourning, Baubo appears.” Baubo might
not know this herself. It can be grief
not caused by loss that will bring her but grief caused by wanting to serve a
better purpose and not knowing the way. Grief from unused potential. Or grief
and concern about our natural areas and not knowing what words change the minds
of those who can make a difference in saving them. How do you put value on beauty or natural
habitats that require the integrity of their ecosystems to thrive? Is this the same question that artists have had
to answer about their value? Downtown areas have taken up the cause of artists
because it increases the value of their downtowns; and brings people out for
the evening and supports local businesses.
How do we make our natural areas, both large and small, into our
downtowns?
~
The sedge lands captured Baubo’s heart
song. Their small archipelago acted like
a seine, and the little fish, dismissed as bait, were her porters to the shore.
~
The need to explain her place in space and
time was not new for Baubo. The understanding that came along for her, the way
spring flowers move toward their summer glory, was a gift. The idea of the Appalachian Trail, the AT, blossomed
in her understanding. The world has known many trails, trade routes and pilgrimages. She knew this trail started out as an idea
that was embraced by many before it became a reality. Those who wanted to help
create and be a part of one of the world’s longest, continuous footpath
volunteered. Thousands of people created the AT. Whether you travel Georgia to
Maine or go from the north to the south. Whether you hike a small part of the
trail or are a thru-hiker, you are on a path that crosses fourteen states and
holds throughout a sense of pilgrimage and communion. Baubo was taken by the
generosity of the people who worked the trail so others could use it. Whether
thru- hikers or day hikers, most, will likely never know the names of the volunteers. But everyone who’s been on the trail
recognizes this relationship between the seen and the unseen. Many feel a sense of kinship with all that is
part of the AT and all those who pass through it. Volunteers feel a sense of connection to the
whole trail even if they’re just clearing a small section near their home.
~
Some things take time. You bring time and understanding with you
wherever you arrive. The Sedge Islands are not a part of the AT but the
spiritual lineage is there, the volunteers are there. Jim McClain recognizing
the osprey needed a hand up, is there.
~
If Baubo comes to you, you are one of the
ones who built a trail; that carried on the work that Aldo Leopold and others
started; that Grandmother Rachel started; the work of keeping the birds in
flight, the trails in sky and the lands open to supporting their lives.
~
Baubo saw the line that lead from her work
in the world, her small piece of the trail that led to Rachel and then to
Rachel’s birds. We are all a part of this line, in our work, in our hopes, even
in sharing the recognition of the trail and how it relates to where you stand
in the world. Or fly, for that matter.
~
Just as we know a place by living there,
or know where the road will turn without a marker, we are familiar with the
land around us, with the views we have. The essence of our place is within us.
We don’t have to do anything special to access this information. There is no border of knowing and not
knowing. We know our homes. How can you
put a border on love and spirit?
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