I am leaving soon on a trip to the great deserts of Utah, which remain very wild. I will pass through some of the New Mexican landscapes that Lawrence loved. I love the desert. There is a place in Utah I particularly enjoy, called the Valley of the Gods - it is a name you will particularly appreciate :) It is a place that is holy to the Navajos, and a very wild landscape of red rock towers.
Btw, I hope you heal your rift with David Bentley Hart. You both have important things to say. Hart can be a bit arrogant, harsh, and moralistic, but he is a great man and his heart is in the right place. We must forgive people like that their foibles. And his uncompromising insistence on an elevated moral vision is an important counterweight to so much of the moral shittiness we encounter today.
And while I think your heart is definitely in the right place too, you sometimes veer too close to a kind of moral callousness, perhaps, in your - completely justified - disgust with modernity and yearning for a vitality and exuberance we have lost - forgive me for saying so, but it does seem to me that way. But you too have an indispensable message, too, that needs more exposure.
Thank you for your comment and criticism. I really respect the way you presented this to me, and you are, of course, right. I think, the Internet encourages moral callousness, and I am not immune from that. My thinking, at times, is that everything is pushing so hard in one direction, that I must push twice as hard in the other direction just to stem the tide of insanity. Of course, that, itself, is a form of automatism, and I really do need to be more mindful of it. One would probably think from my articles and comments that I am aiming to be a prophet or revolutionary on a soapbox, but when I sit down with someone face to face and discuss these matters, I am really just a quiet, introspective human being whose heart is bleeding from sadness due to the ravishment of the world.
Regarding Hart, I also appreciate your comment. Hart's rage during our recent fight was due to a "letter" from Lawrence to Katherine Mansfield, but he is too intelligent and too well informed to not know that the letter in question was a malicious fabrication by John Middleton Murray. I have researched this just in case I was wrong, but the scholarship is pretty much in agreement with me, though it is sometimes hard to kill a lie. Now, I have this sneaking suspicion that one of my articles that I wrote in the last few months offended Hart, and he tried to provoke me. He succeeded, and that just shows that I have to develop more emotional intelligence. I don't know what it was that I wrote that set him off, but I have my suspicions. I do think the man does fantastic scholarship, and I also think that, largely, his heart is in the right place, but I find myself wishing that he would devote more of his time to writing his positive, inspiring books, and less time trolling people online.
If you get the chance, try to visit the Lawrence Ranch. It is a special place. Also, if you have the time, make the drive on the old high road between Taos and Santa Fe. You will see the same sights that DHL mentioned in his essay "New Mexico". A short detour from that road you will find the El Santuario de Chimayó, which is a very holy place.
Looked at from the right perspective, the sacred mountains in Taos look like a reclining pregnant woman. The Pueblo people believe that it is one of the Gods asleep and ready to give birth to a new world. May it be so.
On my way back from Taos, the last time I was there, I was driving through Colorado and saw an albino Elk. May such an auspicious spirit visit you on your upcoming trip.
Very good, this one.
I am leaving soon on a trip to the great deserts of Utah, which remain very wild. I will pass through some of the New Mexican landscapes that Lawrence loved. I love the desert. There is a place in Utah I particularly enjoy, called the Valley of the Gods - it is a name you will particularly appreciate :) It is a place that is holy to the Navajos, and a very wild landscape of red rock towers.
Btw, I hope you heal your rift with David Bentley Hart. You both have important things to say. Hart can be a bit arrogant, harsh, and moralistic, but he is a great man and his heart is in the right place. We must forgive people like that their foibles. And his uncompromising insistence on an elevated moral vision is an important counterweight to so much of the moral shittiness we encounter today.
And while I think your heart is definitely in the right place too, you sometimes veer too close to a kind of moral callousness, perhaps, in your - completely justified - disgust with modernity and yearning for a vitality and exuberance we have lost - forgive me for saying so, but it does seem to me that way. But you too have an indispensable message, too, that needs more exposure.
Thank you for your comment and criticism. I really respect the way you presented this to me, and you are, of course, right. I think, the Internet encourages moral callousness, and I am not immune from that. My thinking, at times, is that everything is pushing so hard in one direction, that I must push twice as hard in the other direction just to stem the tide of insanity. Of course, that, itself, is a form of automatism, and I really do need to be more mindful of it. One would probably think from my articles and comments that I am aiming to be a prophet or revolutionary on a soapbox, but when I sit down with someone face to face and discuss these matters, I am really just a quiet, introspective human being whose heart is bleeding from sadness due to the ravishment of the world.
Regarding Hart, I also appreciate your comment. Hart's rage during our recent fight was due to a "letter" from Lawrence to Katherine Mansfield, but he is too intelligent and too well informed to not know that the letter in question was a malicious fabrication by John Middleton Murray. I have researched this just in case I was wrong, but the scholarship is pretty much in agreement with me, though it is sometimes hard to kill a lie. Now, I have this sneaking suspicion that one of my articles that I wrote in the last few months offended Hart, and he tried to provoke me. He succeeded, and that just shows that I have to develop more emotional intelligence. I don't know what it was that I wrote that set him off, but I have my suspicions. I do think the man does fantastic scholarship, and I also think that, largely, his heart is in the right place, but I find myself wishing that he would devote more of his time to writing his positive, inspiring books, and less time trolling people online.
If you get the chance, try to visit the Lawrence Ranch. It is a special place. Also, if you have the time, make the drive on the old high road between Taos and Santa Fe. You will see the same sights that DHL mentioned in his essay "New Mexico". A short detour from that road you will find the El Santuario de Chimayó, which is a very holy place.
Looked at from the right perspective, the sacred mountains in Taos look like a reclining pregnant woman. The Pueblo people believe that it is one of the Gods asleep and ready to give birth to a new world. May it be so.
On my way back from Taos, the last time I was there, I was driving through Colorado and saw an albino Elk. May such an auspicious spirit visit you on your upcoming trip.
I particularly liked Lonely, lonesome, loney-o! Thanks for that. Really related to this post.
Yes the area around Taos and Santa Fe is magical. Only been once but it stays with me.
Excellent. Resonated with me. Thank you.