Tareva - Week 5

You've probably recognized that it's been months, literally, since I last blogged. Life has been pure insanity this semester and finding time to do anything outside of scheduled class work has become almost impossible. Who am I to complain, however? I don't know anyone who isn't just as busy...

This week I wanted to discuss some of the text from the Annie Dillard book (which is fabulous by the way). Dillard has a way of discussing her surroundings and describing them with such art and detail that you feel as if you are sitting by Tinker Creek watching her do all of the things she speaks of. At the start of the book she mentions the unanswered question about "if a tree falls in the woods." I can honestly say thta I've heard this phrase about a million and a half times but never have I heard someone discuss it the way that Dillard has. She mentions, "The fact of his free fall was like the old philosophical conundrum about the tree that falls in the forest. The answer must be, I think, that beauty and grace are performed whether or not we will or sense them. The least we can do is try to be there." I was so moved by this passage! It is as if Dillard is saying that it is our responsibility, as a people, to do all that we can to witness the beauty and grace of nature. The truth is, it does not matter if the tree makes a noise if it falls. The only way to experience it is to be present when it happens. Dillard made me want to get right out of my chair and just go stand in the center of the forrest and wait. Silly it seems, I know, but it is not until this semester that I've been introduced to the wonders of the wilderness...and i like it.