“Just as language has no longer anything in common with the thing it names, so the movements of most of the people who live in cities have lost their connection with the earth; they hang, as it were, in the air, hover in all directions, and find no place where they can settle.”
—Rainer Maria Rilke
My niece Janean (by way of my brother Gary) is such a good mother. She wrote this touching email to my father who shared it with me. Now Janean has agreed to share it with all of you. It’s a fine example, I think, of moral and spiritual education…of giving structure, but also, giving space….
I fingered the treasures in my pocket as I strolled to the tree that hovered over the creek. It had no soil under it. Roots dangled through the air, then plunged straight and deep into rushing water. Fish swam between roots. With soil between roots the tree had sheltered a rabbit burrow, not swimming fish….
My father Erwin A. Thompson, grandson of E. A. Riehl, writes fondly of Lee Maupin, his boyhood neighbor…and how Pop changed the course of Lee’s life…with a big boost from my Great Aunt Mim. Lee is gone now. And the farm is completely changed. Pop and I still visit Kay Maupin up in Otterville. Kay…
“We are not born all at once, but by bits. The body first, and the spirit later; and the birth and growth of the spirit, in those who are attentive to their own inner life, are slow and exceedingly painful. Our mothers are racked with the pains of our physical birth; we ourselves suffer the…
“Beneath the poetry of the texts, there is the actual poetry, without form and without text.” –Antonin Artaud, poet, essayist, playwright, actor & director
I’ve been harvesting my journals this week. One of the fruits of my harvest is this series of Riehlife contemplations which I hope you’ll enjoy and use: –for cultivating your own contemplations. –for starting conversations with loved ones and friends. –for prompting your writing. What are your foul weather blue sky gifts? What does your…
That’s a great Rilke thought Janet. Thanks for that one.
Hal