Ecology: The Quest for Depth

I am here not only to evade for a while the clamor and filth and confusion of the cultural apparatus but also to confront, immediately and directly if it’s possible, the bare bones of existence, the elemental and fundamental, the bedrock which sustains us.

– Edward Abbey (Desert Solitaire: A Season in the Wilderness, p.6)

Why spend time in the wilderness? Why seek everyday wildness? To find yourself, the emptiness of you, the spontaneity of reality.

Life is the effortless acceleration of gravity, impeded only by false views.

In wilderness we are our bodies, but not limited to the confines of our skin. The body extends as far as the eye can see, the ear can hear, the mind can imagine. In society we are given labels and constructs to protect us – and they become us; they become the cross we bear. The deeper into concepts we spiral down, the greater our burden.

Philosophy is the art of the mastery of concepts. At least today it is. Two thousand years ago it meant so much more: philo sophia, the love of wisdom. And wisdom was carefully distinguished from mere knowledge, techne. Wisdom envelopes the whole of one’s being, softening the grip of concepts – labels – limitations…