“No amount of word-making will ever make a single soul to know these mountains. As well seek to warm the naked and frost-bitten by lectures on caloric and pictures of flame. One day’s exposure to mountains is better than cartloads of books.†JM In three simple, expository lines Muir opened a window to his soul. … [Read more…]
“Any fool can destroy trees.†John Muir One of the Muir’s pressing reasons for creating “The Sierra Club†was to try to slow the destruction of California’s redwood forest. He was called an ignorant fool for suggesting that all of the redwood trees could be chopped down. Currently only 5% of the original forest remains … [Read more…]
One of the primary reasons that John Muir, Loren Eiseley and Annie Dillard were celebrated as major mentors in the Biodesign Class was their respective genius in describing playfulness as a quintessential component in the biology of Planet Earth. Dillard described dolphins frolicking in the water around the Galapagos Islands. I suspect that she would … [Read more…]
https://youtu.be/0cBsnopTVmo One of the greatest Biodesign discoveries was that Darwin contemporary, Lord Alfred Wallace, described music as a quintessential component in human spiritual growth and development. Each day Biodesign students were greeted at the bio-lab door with music from quadraphonic speakers. The music could have been Classical, Jazz, Pop, Rock, Folk, Opera, Reggae or Gospel, … [Read more…]
We were recently privileged to attend the 40th birthday celebration of Eric Empting (Biodesign ’97). During the joyous event, classmate Ahren Trumble sidled up to me and mentioned that he had lost his “Sasha Mug†and wondered if I possibly had a replacement. I assured him that I would check. He mentioned that the exact … [Read more…]
Happy 181st Birthday John Muir: April 21, 1838 After whimsically describing John Muir as, “St. John of the Mountains,†I have come to suspect the designation may have been more Jungian and less whimsy. If so, his elevation to sainthood may not be an unrealistic overreach. In many ways he lived like an ascetic monk, … [Read more…]
There are religious scholars who believe that John Muir was sent as God’s messenger to interpret and describe the wonders and miracles of the wilderness. Conversely, there are secular scientists who assert that his life is a testament of the unlimited creativity of random genetic combinations without involvement with a Supreme Being. However, what they … [Read more…]
Among perhaps the three greatest American Naturalists, John Muir was clearly the wildest. He “walked-the-walk and talked-the-talk†throughout vast areas of unspoiled wilderness. He experienced and described marvels, wonders and miracles that R.W. Emerson and H.D. Thoreau could not envision in their widest imagination. Emerson chose to write from the comfort of his office desk. … [Read more…]
“Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these.†Matt. 19:14 When our four children were small, each year the best Christmas gift that they gave to my wife and me didn’t cost them a penny. It was offered freely and eagerly … [Read more…]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhdVGaBVIow Music was one of the greatest spiritual components of the Biodesign Class. Voltaire suggested; “Music is a pathway to the heart†and after living with the Native people of New Guinea, Alfred Wallace concluded that music was a part of their soul. Whether I had a collective subconscious relationship with John Denver (or not) … [Read more…]