11 Comments

A lovely beginning meditation, my friend. I think of William Desmond's metaphysical reflections and his concern for the porosity that communicates the numinous depths of nature to the contemplative soul. Plato stressed the wonder that is the origin of our questing desire to embrace and be embraced by Sophia. And yet, the path of modernity, the dregs of a Kali Yuga that we existentially encounter, is so often a wrestling with anxiety. Like Kierkegaard, we discover the love of wisdom in that experience as well. The vatic art of the poet plumbs depths both young as the ancient of days, and dark with the sorrows of the earth. I look forward to the sharing of your inquiry. To speak of bells is also to recollect that charming and wise episode of Huysmans that considers the arcana of bell tolling and the ancient practice of baptising bells . . .

Expand full comment

Jonathan, thank you for sharing your writing and your self. I grew up in Cincinnati - many years before you - and Michigan was my northern star. Maybe our midwestern-ness gives us an especial appreciation for Kurt Vonnegut, a Hoosier by birth and heart.

Expand full comment

I love many things about this letter, but I will highlight one. You care to *name* the creatures you encounter. It's not just grass; it's big bluestem. Not just trees, but oaks. Not just a big bird, or even just a hawk, but a Cooper's hawk, and probably a female.

Natural history is essential to sophianic vision.

Expand full comment