It's 20 below. Full moon (snow moon) tomorrow.
I shut my headlamp off during my run last night. Didn't need it. The glow on the snow from the moonlight was enough. Got home late from work and filling my mom's woodstove . Time enough to water the pasture animals, workout, eat dinner, clean up, and go to bed. 5 hours later here I am in front of the fire.
The quote above speaks to me. I have a philosophy of life. It's complex and flexible . . . most of the time. I suffer when it gets too rigid. Something I've learned over the years.
When I think about the bundle of wisdom that I've gathered from my reading and experience the voices of the tribal peoples that lived on this continent are always present. Sitting Bull. Crazy Horse. Geronimo. Chief Joseph. And countless others.
There's a line by Daniel Quinn in a pocket book he put out early in his career. The title of it is "The Book of the Damned." He calls our culture the Takers. He calls the tribal peoples the Leavers. He's speaks mythologically. Because we all have a general story of what happened at the conquest of this continent.
He said the Leavers spoke to us in poetry. If you read some of their oratory it is poetic. Their imaginations were fed by the nonhuman world. Much more than ours. Some explorers I've read said they were childlike.
Quinn said we just patted them on the head and carried on with our conquest. The vision to improve the world and turn it into a paradise was too strong for most to listen.
Well, anyway, I always wonder what would've happened if we, the Takers, would've listened better.
That's it for this meandering musing. I have to start a jeep so I have something somewhat warm to drive to work in.
I hope you have a great day.
Fire 129
2.11.25
