"Reweaving the World"
Title of a book by Irene Diamond and Gloria Feman Orenstein
On Saturday, Joanne and I hiked to the top of a ridge in the Hewlett Burn, up Poudre Canyon. The trailhead is just twenty minutes from our home. This particular fire started in May of 2012 and burned nearly 7800 acres. As she pulled out her knitting needles, I couldn't help but think that it was more than just a scarf that Joanne was weaving. It occurred to me that she was really actualizing the reweaving of the fire-devastated LANDSCAPE back together - its plants, animals, soils and landforms.
More importantly, however, it seemed Joanne was reweaving all of
HUMANITY back into the landscape. After all, most people find little
beauty in burned areas. But forest fires stimulate many wildflower
species to proliferate more abundantly, which in turn can teach US to
find beauty in our own experiences of inner devastation.
However, it also occurred to me that both Joanne's weaving and the Hewlett Burn symbolize much, much more. The burn itself speaks of the devastation that humanity - especially the corporate-industrial machine - is causing to the world: to its indigenous cultures and ecosystems, and to the mental, emotional and spiritual well-being of all of us. Just as the Hewlett Fire was human-caused, so the burning up of many of our most important spiritual values is also human-induced.
But Joanne's knitting reminded me that humanity is also capable of reweaving itself back into the world. As we return to an awareness of our embeddedness in the web of life, we will once again become a GIFT to the planet rather than a scourge. For it is through our attitudes of awe, wonder, appreciation and gratitude that the cosmos - as well as the Divine - comes to know its own immense beauty and grandeur. As Thomas Berry says: "Humanity is the mind and heart of the world." On Saturday, it was especially THIS kind of reweaving that Joanne seemed to be actualizing as she sat peacefully knitting her scarf.
Photo: Joanne knitting in the Hewlett Burn, Poudre Canyon, CO, December 6, 2014
However, it also occurred to me that both Joanne's weaving and the Hewlett Burn symbolize much, much more. The burn itself speaks of the devastation that humanity - especially the corporate-industrial machine - is causing to the world: to its indigenous cultures and ecosystems, and to the mental, emotional and spiritual well-being of all of us. Just as the Hewlett Fire was human-caused, so the burning up of many of our most important spiritual values is also human-induced.
But Joanne's knitting reminded me that humanity is also capable of reweaving itself back into the world. As we return to an awareness of our embeddedness in the web of life, we will once again become a GIFT to the planet rather than a scourge. For it is through our attitudes of awe, wonder, appreciation and gratitude that the cosmos - as well as the Divine - comes to know its own immense beauty and grandeur. As Thomas Berry says: "Humanity is the mind and heart of the world." On Saturday, it was especially THIS kind of reweaving that Joanne seemed to be actualizing as she sat peacefully knitting her scarf.
Photo: Joanne knitting in the Hewlett Burn, Poudre Canyon, CO, December 6, 2014
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