finding a place in the commonality of all life.

Laminated wood for making small boxes.

Last night I listened as barred owls called in the forest outside, and I marveled at our own place in the scheme of things. We can shelter from the outside world and withdraw into our own spaces in a state of disconnection, or we can stretch beyond the common boundaries of self in the realization of our dependency upon, and commonality with all things. Folks live now in a world of ignorance, in which we are too often disconnected from the natural world and choose to think that is OK. As a very small step toward remediation I offer a few brief quotes.

"Natural geometry (taking the word in its limited sense of study of form in space) is the object of a desire which generally precedes the artificial curiosity for the meaning of letters." E. Seguin.

"Without an accurate acquaintance with the visible and tangible properties of things, our conceptions must be erroneous, our inferences fallacious, and our operations unsuccessful." – Herbert Spencer

"If we consider it, we shall find that exhaustive observation is an element of all great success."  – Herbert Spencer.

"Instruction must begin with actual inspection, not with verbal descriptions of things. From such inspection it is that certain knowledge comes. What is actually seen remains faster in the memory than description or enumeration a hundred times as often repeated." – Comenius.

"The education of the senses neglected, all after-education partakes of a drowsiness, a haziness, an insufficiency, which it is impossible to cure." – Lord Bacon.

"Of this thing be certain: Wouldst thou plant for eternity? Then plant into the deep infinite faculties of man, his fantasy and heart. Wouldst thou plant for year and day? Then plant into his shallow, superficial faculties, his self-love, and arithmetical understanding, what will grow there." – Thos. Carlyle.

I have been thinking of the richness and joy that comes with engagement in community, when the boundaries of self are erased by connections of compassion felt for and expressed for each other. Those were the things that children were to learn in Kindergarten and wood shop before the educational policy makers got involved and twisted things to match their own short term objectives.

Today, I will be working on the 4th chapter of my new book about making tiny boxes.

Make, fix and create...