Ecotone: Writing About Place: HowAreWeDefinedAndShapedByThePlaceWeLive

The topic for July 1, 2003:

How are we defined and shaped by the place where we live?

The original posts on this topic are located at:

[The Cassandra Pages] "The first twenty-five years of my life were spent in the rural, dairy country of central New York State. For the second twenty-five I’ve lived in Vermont and New Hampshire... I’ve taken on some of the characteristics of my adopted home, but I think I remain, at my core, a product of the place I was born and an alien here – well-adapted and content, but alien all the same..."

[Feathers of Hope] "Thinking about this question on the plane from Philadelphia to Sacramento over the weekend threw me into a panic. Why? Because I'm not, I don't think..."

[under the fire star] "The first thing about this place is that it is in the tropics. It is hot here, all year round... The second thing is water: we are always on the border between having just enough and not enough water... To these most elemental facts, add human beings. There are so many of them. Too many for the land or the sea to support, and yet, somehow, they scrape by. I'm like one of the fancy plants which are dying out of our garden. I am expensively watered, fed and temperature-controlled. I am always aware of this..."

[Bowen Island Journal] "Everything about this island invites us to go inward. One cannot help but follow the physical journey with a spiritual one. We retreat into our selves, examine what we see there and find ways to bring it forth into the world. Being an islander does not mean isolation; it means knowing where your edges are and constantly creating connections, following trails and exploring details. You grow aware that the limited landscape in fact draws you deeper in so that it becomes an infinite journey through fractals of detail. The island and the soul become holograms, every part reflecting the whole and encompassing the perfect fullness of its presence. It's impossible to live for long on the surfaces."

We invite your thoughts on this topic!