In the past, humans hesitated when they took lives, even non-human lives. But society had changed, and they no longer felt that way. As humans grew stronger, I think that we became quite arrogant, losing the sorrow of 'we have no other choice.' I think that in the essence of human civilization, we have … Continue reading Quote for Today: Hayao Miyazaki
Picturing Wildness: The Beasts of Henri Rousseau
Artists are often told to work from experience, to relate what we know. There is more to knowledge and experience than physical reality, however. When it comes to inspiration, the inner life of dreams and fantasies is as valid as our external story, and often more striking. It is the play between our perceived reality … Continue reading Picturing Wildness: The Beasts of Henri Rousseau
Quote for Today: Susan Griffin
She was a normal wild beast, whose power is dangerous, whose anger can kill, they had said. Be more careful of her, they advised. Allow her less excitement. Perhaps let her exercise more. She understood none of this. She understood only the look of fear in her keeper’s eyes. And now she paces. Paces as if she were angry, as if she were on the edge of frenzy. The spectators imagine she is going through the movements of the hunt, or that she is readying her body for survival. But she knows no life outside the garden. She has no notion of anger over what she could have been, or might be. No idea of rebellion.
It is only her body that knows of these things, moving her, daily, hourly, back and forth, back and forth, before the bars of her cage.
―Susan Griffin, Woman and Nature: The…
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Giving the Beast a Voice: Man and Beast, a Film by Daniel Ariola
What can animals teach us about ourselves and the world around us? Perhaps humans are not as superior as we would like to be. Beasts do not speak our language, nor do they build civilizations we recognize, so we usually consider them lesser beings. Most people are ignorant of the richness of animal life and … Continue reading Giving the Beast a Voice: Man and Beast, a Film by Daniel Ariola
Quote for Today: Vikram Chandra
"Yes," Sanjay said. "I know I will be reborn, that there is no escape from you. I know my life well and I know that I have not found liberation. I will have to come back to you. But remember, when I die, I do not give up to you, I renounce the world. The … Continue reading Quote for Today: Vikram Chandra
Quote for Today: Chief Seattle
If all the beasts were gone, men would die from a great loneliness of spirit. For whatever happens to the beasts, soon happens to man. All things are connected. ― Chief Seattle Image © Budhiargomiko with CCLicense
Rooted in Loneliness: Thoughts on Ray Bradbury’s The Fog Horn
Art, like life, relies on communication. What happens when empathy fails and we are struck by how unintelligible we are? Sometimes it seems that the only thing we can share is loneliness itself.
© John Mavin with CCLicense
One day many years ago a man walked along and stood in the sound of the ocean on a cold sunless shore and said, “We need a voice to call across the water, to warn ships; I’ll make one. I’ll make a voice like all of time and all of the fog that ever was; I’ll make a voice that is like an empty bed beside you all night long, and like an empty house when you open the door, and like trees in autumn with no leaves. A sound like the birds flying south, crying, and a sound like November wind and the sea on the hard, cold shore. I’ll make…
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