Monday, December 21, 2020
RHYTHMS OF THE NATURAL WORLD
RHYTHMS OF THE NATURAL WORLD
December 21, 2020
The Winter Solstice will occur this year right on schedule: on December 21, at 4:02 am. In the past I have written about several subjects related to the solstice (see www.mackssolsticeblogs.blogspor.com for previous blogs). This year I have decided to write about the nature of relationships and connections. As my lifelong friend, Ray Johnson, always says, everything is connected to everything else and the essence of relationships is communication. I believe the universe communicates with planet earth and its people through sign language. For example, to answer the question, which way is North, the cosmos has sent us a message: locate the Big Dipper and you will see the two stars in the bowl, Dubhe and Merak, pointing to Polaris, the North star. The very name, Solstice, communicates a message to us. Sol means sun and Sistere means “to be still.” The universe communicates to us in many different ways. Perhaps the pandemic is nature’s way of telling us to be still; to reassess and reevaluate. Some communications are based on scientific observation, some based on stories and mythologies (There is a woman in Crab Orchard, Tennessee, who predicts the severity of the coming winter by the thickness of the hair on wooly worms). The great communicator in our galaxy is the Sun. It tells us when to go to bed and when to get up. It reliably provides a guide to the seasons so that we know what to expect and what we need to do to prepare for Spring, Summer, Winter, and Fall. We perceive the most obvious messages of the universe, but most of the time we are no longer attuned to what Michael McCarthy called the “intimate feel for the natural calendar.” (https://emergencemagazine.org/story/the-consolation-of-nature) As we have become more urbanized - more than half the world’s population live in urban areas - our sense of being part of the natural order has diminished significantly. Other than knowing that it is hot in the summer and cold in the winter, we have little direct knowledge or experience with nature, made worse by the proliferation of technologies that tie us to electronic screens. Its much easier to watch “Nature” on tv than it is to take a hike. Richard Louv, in his book, Last Child in the Woods, refers to this separation from nature as a “nature-deficient disorder.” I, too, have been struck by the loss of “the intimate feel for the natural calendar.” The question is, how do we become more attuned to the rhythms and processes of nature? It is not easy. It takes some effort. We must be curious, observant, and open to learning and understanding the world around us. Maybe we do not have to go farther than our own back yard. Put up bird feeders. Plant a small garden. Take note of the rhythms of nature. These rhythms can be large like 150,000 Purple Martins taking up residence at the Nashville Opera House, or small like the fledglings wrens in the nest on the window sill. They can be fierce like a Derecho or gentle like a summer breeze on Radnor Lake. The can be repetitive like having to milk cows twice a day, or singular like a boulder rolling down a mountain. They can be devastating like a drought or beneficial like a summer rain. They can be communal and contagious like Covid-19 or uniquely individual like a kidney stone or an aneurysm. The rhythms of nature will pass us by unless we are aware and awake. If you are not familiar with Margaret Renkl and what she has written, I recommend reading her columns in the New York Times. She writes about lots of things but I particularly enjoy her columns about natural things. (see Margaret Renkl, “Hawk, Lizard, Mole. Human” NYT, August 31, 2020).
As I am writing I am sitting in my sunroom which has a view of the back yard. There are three bird feeders that allow me to watch the several species coming and going to discover the latest fare I have put out for them. This food I put out for is not their main source of nourishment. They continue to eat worms, insects, and other natural foods in the environment. As such they can be considered to be “hunters and gatherers,” as were our ancestors for about 30,000 years. That is, they eat what is available in their environment; the birds do not plant, sow, or reap, Neither do other wild animals. The squirrels have been scurrying around the yard with walnuts in their mouths hoping to find a place they can stash them that will be easy to remember when the winter is finally here and snow is covering their hiding places.
The squirrels reminded me that all wild animals have to prepare for winter. This thought also came to mind when I noticed the large number of walnuts being produced by the walnut tree looming over her deck. All during October and November the walnuts kept falling on our heads, bouncing off the roof all night long, and covering the ground and driveway with green husked nuts.
I said to her one day, “Man, the mast is really abundant this year. I wonder if there is also a large mast in the Smokies.” She looked at me and said, “What is the mast, I don’t know that term.” I first learned about “mast” when I started backpacking with friends in the Smokey Mountain National Park in 1980. We would hike half the park, about thirty six miles, twice a year. It was on one of these trips I first heard about mast. On one of our early trips we had to go to a ranger station to pick up our hiking and camping permit. The ranger, who looked a lot like Festus in Gunsmoke, gave us a warning. He said, “Watch out for bears out there. The mast has been sparse this year and the bears are pretty hungry. They will come right into your camp.” Hesitantly I asked, “Mast? What is mast?” He said, “Oh you know, the mast is all the nuts and berries, and fruits the trees and bushes produce each year. The mast is what the animals eat. It sustains all the animals in the forest, but is especially important for the bears. If the female bears don’t get enough nourishment and fat in the summer and fall by stuffing themselves before they hibernate, they won’t be healthy and have as many cubs in the Spring.” He went on to tell us there are two kinds of mast. Soft mast and hard mast. Soft mast includes fruit and berries from Carolina buckthorn, black cherries, pokeweed, blueberries, blackberries, grapes, and persimmons. They gorge themselves on soft mast in early fall before the hard mast, nuts, are falling from the Oak and Hickory trees. They will eat as much as 20,000 calories a day. Ranger Festus told us that the most important hard mast was acorns from Oak trees. He said there was a time when chestnuts were the most important hard mast but they were infected by a fungus (Cryphonectria parasitica) around 1904 and were all gone by 1940. It was a pandemic that eradicated a species of trees. Something to think about.
The life cycle of any species is fascinating, but I find the life cycle of the black bear to be especially interesting. Females\ bears mate in May or June. The fertilized egg develops into a blastocyst which does not develop into a fetus until it is implanted in the uterus in November during hibernation. Once implanted, the fetus develops rapidly and one to five cubs – depending on the nature of the mast the previous fall - are born in late January, weighing about eight ounces at birth. By the time mother and cubs emerge from hibernation the cubs have gained seven or eight pounds and are ready to learn the ways of being a bear. Mother bear is a good teacher. The cubs learn all the skills they will need to survive on their own in about a year and a half at which time mother and cubs separate. The young cubs go off on their own, mother bear mates again, and the cycle starts over.
We think of the Solstice as the time the light returns. But the Solstice also marks the beginning of the darkest time of the year, winter. Winter is a time of darkness and dormancy. For bears and other wild animals it is a period of hibernation, or deep and extended sleep. Bodily functions are suspended or slowed down for a time. The excess weight and nourishment they added when gorging in the fall makes eating unnecessary. They just sleep during the freezing months.
In a sense, what we humans are experiencing during this time of pandemic isolation is akin to hibernation. We are staying home, not eating out or going to movies, not seeing family or friends. And unlike the bears who lose weight during hibernation, I suspect we may be adding a few pounds. There are reports that people are eating and drinking more now. However, I think there may be an upside to this new lifestyle. I am reading more; have returned to knitting, and am baking bread again. I am also using this time to prepare for the coming spring – and spring is coming. I am reading seed catalogs, preparing my flower beds for spring planting, and getting my house in order for warm weather. A period of dormancy may provide a time to prepare for what is to come. Just as the darkness did not come in one fell swoop, the light will not come in one brilliant flash. Things change gradually and at their own pace. Sometimes, all we can do is wait patiently for what is to come. Wu Wei.
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Monday, August 3, 2015
It's About Time
ITS ABOUT TIME…
2014 WINTER SOLSTICE BLOG
“The solar year – the time required for earth to complete an obit around the sun – is 365 days, 48 minutes, and 46 seconds.” Boorstin, Daniel, The Discoverers, p.9
Time is a concept which has been studied and written and thought about by scientists (Einstein), philosophers, poets, novelists, preachers, comedians, athletes and most human beings. If you Google “Quotes about time” you will find an astonishing array of quotations, many serious, but also many humorous. We all have used clichés about time, such as, “Time flies when you are having fun.” Or, “Time heals all wounds (or its paraphrase, “time wounds all heels.”). We all experience time or the consciousness of time in different ways and in ways that change at different stages of our lives. Time seems much different to me now as an 80 something year old than it did forty years ago.
So, here are some of my thoughts regarding time.
First, without the ability of the human mind to observe, remember, and record repetitive events in the natural world, time would not exist. Without the recorder (humans) there would be no past, present, or future. Only the forever now.
The most obvious repetitive event in the natural world is the rising and setting sun by which we define a “day”. Different cultures have defined the beginning and ending of “day” in various ways. Some have said that the new day begins at sunset. Others have said the new day begins at sunrise. We moderns say that the new day begins at midnight. Likewise, what is a week? Seven days? Hasn’t always been that way. The same for “month” and “year”. Some cultures use a lunar (moon) calendar and define a “year” as 13 months of 28 days each. Again, inaccuracies of astronomical measurement cause some problems. For Muslims, the time of Ramadan moves through the seasons. Christians use a lunar event to designate the day on which Easter will be celebrated. The Christian Church has determined that Easter will be on “…the first Sunday after the full moon which happens upon or next after the 21st day of March; and if the full moon happens upon a Sunday, Easter Day is the Sunday after.”
TIME is defined by the dictionary as the period between two events. The two events can be anything; a birthday, an anniversary, the beginning and end of a semester or a football game. It may be the period between when the gun goes off and one crosses the finish line. (Roger Bannister ran the mile under four minutes in 1954 for the first time in history. His time was 4.59.4).
An operational definition is: time is that which is measured by a clock (or sundial, hour glass, , watch, etc.) or some repetitive event. The Egyptians measured their “year” by the flooding of the Nile River. They had a calendar of 365 ¼ days. This calendar was adopted by Rome as the Julian Calendar, but it was inaccurate by 11 minutes a year. Pope Gregory ordained a new calendar in 1582 which corrected the Julian calendar by eliminating 10 days and built in a continuing correction by omitting leap day from years ending in hundreds, unless they were divisible by 400. This produced the modern calendar we still use today. When the only instruments available to measure time were the sundial (not very useful at night) or an hour glass, time was experienced as flowing. With the development of the mechanical clock, time was experienced in discrete units. At first only hours, then minutes and seconds as clocks became more sophisticated.
Like all human achievements, the history of the evolution of instruments to measure time – clocks/watches – is a fascinating history (see Boorstin). We have gone from the clock to sound a bell four times a day for prayers to instruments that are able to measure thousandths and even millionths of seconds.
I have several clocks in my house, but the two I favor are the replica of the Medieval clock my wife and son gave me for Christmas about forty years ago. It is powered by a rock weight and only has an hour hand. Now that I am retired I find this clock useful since I have no need for minutes and seconds.
MEDIEVAL CLOCK
The other clock I like is my atomic clock whose time is set by a radio transmitter from the atomic clock in Colorado. It is always accurate to the second. Even though I am retired and have no great need for such accuracy, I do like having the precise time.
ATOMIC CLOCK
Two afterthoughts re time:
In ten days 1990 will be 25 years ago.
Next year’s freshman college class was born in 1997.
Two suggestions for reading more about time and invention:
Read the story of measuring longitude and the Harrison clocks. See Longitude by Dava Sobel
Read about how the invention of the “escapement” enabled modern clocks and changed the world. See Boorstin, p. 38.
Tuesday, December 2, 2014
WINTER SOLSTICE BLOGS 2009-2013
The following is a collection of four of my Winter Solstice “ramblings” (five if you count the repeat of 2009 last year). Winter Solstice thoughts for 2014 are in development. Please forgive the repetition from year to year. Some themes just persist.
THE WINTER SOLSTICE, 2009
Today, December 21st, is the winter solstice, one of the most significant days in the year. Why? Astronomically, it is the point when the sun seems to start back in the opposite direction. If you have noticed, since about June 21 days have been getting shorter and nights longer, so that on December 21 the shortest day, and, hence, the longest night, of the year occurs. For us in the moderate climes (latitudes) it doesn’t make a lot of difference, but if you lived at the North Pole (or the South Pole) your days and nights would be exceedingly long.
Metaphorically, human cultures have developed religious and symbolic explanations and ritual celebrations in conjunction with the ebb and flow of the seasons, especially in relation to the winter solstice in the northern hemisphere. For example, Eskimo culture, experiencing long periods of darkness, developed the following metaphoric explanation: once upon a time, the evil king stole the sun from the sky and put it in a box in his palace. Through divine intervention, including the miraculous birth of his grandson, the sun was rescued on December 21 and restored to its rightful place in the sky. The return of the sun was indeed something to celebrate! Other cultures, especially of the far north climes, developed stories and symbols celebrating the sun’s return: a rotund man dressed in red (the sun) bringing gifts (light); evergreen trees indicating that life persists, even in the midst of darkness; wreaths, evergreen circles symbolizing the continuous cycle of the seasons and the unending persistence of life.
The December celebration in the Roman Empire in the first century was called the “Saturnalia,” in honor of the god Saturn and marked the return of the “Golden Age.” The celebration lasted for seven days and was a time of feasting and gift-giving. The genius of the early Christian church was that it had the capacity to incorporate existing pre-Christian rituals and celebrations into its own annual calendar by giving those celebrations Christian content and meaning. By celebrating the birth of Christ in late December – scholars agree that this was not the actual time of his birth – the early church was greatly assisted in its efforts to convert non-Christians to its faith.
The Santa Claus figure was incorporated into Christmas celebrations through a mingling of both Christian and non-Christian sources. Santa Claus, a rotund (round) figure all dressed in red (the sun) who came from the North Pole (arctic darkness), bringing gifts (light) slowly became a central metaphorical symbol associated with an historic figure from the fourth century, Saint Nicholas (in Holland, Sinter Klaas). St. Nicholas’ death was celebrated in early December and was marked by feasting and gift-giving. Parents would encourage “proper” behavior in their children by telling them that if they were “good,” St. Nicholas would bring them gifts.
Our celebrations of Christmas, thus, derive from many cultures and many sources, all ultimately related to the winter solstice. For Christians, it is a time to celebrate the birth of Jesus, the coming of the son, God made flesh. For the larger culture, it is a time for feasting, family reunions, and gift-giving. For commercial enterprises it is time for exploiting the generous spirit of the season, thus generating the largest profits of the year. For everyone, it is a time to celebrate the oneness of our common humanity on planet Earth, 93 million miles from the sun and tilted at 23.5 degrees.
So, in the spirit of generosity and tolerance, let me wish you a season, however you celebrate it, of joy, happiness, and above all, LIGHT (both literally and figuratively)!
WINTER SOLSTICE 2010
One of the most significant natural events of our planet Earth will occur next Tuesday, December 21. This event has inspired the creation of religions, folktales, mythologies, celebrations, festivals, and holidays through the ages. And yet its coming will go largely, if not completely, unnoticed by the vast majority of people as they go merrily on their way preparing to celebrate the holiday most inspired by this natural event, at least in western culture…Christmas. This event is the Winter Solstice.
A brief background. As our earthly home makes its annual trip around the sun, jauntily tilted at about 23.5 degrees, there are two significant points in its orbit, the Summer Solstice and the Winter Solstice, and two mildly interesting points, the Equanoxes. The Solstices are significant because they mark the beginning of the change in the length of days. On, or about, June 21, days begin to get shorter until they reach the shortest day of the Year, December 21, the Winter Solstice, at which point days begin to get longer until they reach the longest day of the year, June 21. Mid-way between these two points (in March and September) daylight and darkness are equal. Thus, we have the making of “seasons,” Summer, Fall, Winter and Spring. And in turn, the seasons define the agricultural round of the year which enables our very existence. It is quite understandable that our ancestors would celebrate this “return of the sun” because it was the assurance that they would not have to continue living in darkness, that Spring would follow winter and that life on earth would be renewed. Metaphorical interpretations become associated with the seasons: Winter (dormancy, death), Spring (new life, resurrection), Summer (growth, rest), Fall (harvest, thanksgiving). In particular, the Winter Solstice has been celebrated as the return of the sun (light) and personified as the round jolly man in the bright red suit. Most of us now participate in the “celebrations” of various holidays but have not the slightest clue as to their origins and meaning in the natural world. I wonder why that is!
Let me suggest some reasons. The first is our general ignorance and distrust of science (natural explanations). While our educational system gives a general nod to science, unless one is a science major, one does not acquire an in-depth understanding of the processes and rhythms of the earth. This is further exacerbated by the second reason, namely our separation and alienation from natural processes. Most of us live in cities and suburban places. We do not grow our own food or even see those who do. We have no idea of what is required to run a farm and no knowledge of the demands of changing seasons. The third reason for our general ignorance is our fear to grasp our full humanity and embrace our natural world. Instead, the metaphors that our ancestors created as explanations for their experiences of the world have become codified into literal explanations. In other words, originally, nature informed myth; now myth informs nature (the world) In scientific terminology, the independent and dependent variables have been switched. For example, the Eskimo experience of the Winter Solstice preceded and inspired their creation of the metaphor (story, myth) of the Raven. The Raven metaphor did not come first. It came after the experience of the days getting longer. I suppose you can tell I have been skirting issues related to our own culture. But to be honest let me be plain spoken: In agreement with what I have written, I believe the concept “God” is a metaphor created my our ancestors. Another way of stating it is: “And man created god in his own image.” (That is what I meant when I said the independent and dependent variables have been switched.)
While the return of the sun is a relatively minor event in our lives at this latitude, if you lived in the far North it would be a huge event. Why? Because you would have been living in the dark for six months.
THE WINTER SOLSTICE, 2011
MACK’S ANNUAL SOLSTICE RAMBLINGS
Greetings on this Winter Solstice of 2011. I have just come from Starbucks where I greeted people with, “Happy Winter Solstice!.” To my amazement and dismay, not one person knew that today is the Winter Solstice. I believe it is the most significant day in the natural, evolutionary, and human history of the planet Earth. In the natural cycles of the planet, today marks the end of the six month march toward darkness and the beginning of the march toward light, or the beginning of the planting, growing, and harvesting season. Without this agricultural cycle we simply would not exist. Metaphorically, the Winter Solstice has inspired the mythologies and religions of human cultures. The impact of the WS on the creation and evolution of mythologies and religions cannot be overstated. Yet, modern humans are almost totally unaware of this connection. Why? I think there are two reasons to account for this lack of knowledge. The first is that modern humans are separated/alienated from the natural world. We do not plants seeds, we do not grow crops, we do not slaughter hogs or cows, we do not shovel animal waste (or human waste). Thus, the “signs” of nature are unknown to us. Where the sun is in the sky is of no consequence for urban schedules.
The second reason why people do not know today’s meaning is because modern humans interpret mythologies and religious writings literally and supernaturally rather than metaphorically. Scholars have long known that the Christian church adopted the Roman celebration of the Saturnalia in late December as the birthday of Jesus. Rather than metaphor, most people view it literally. Cultures in the far north, particularly, have “stories” (myths or folktales) of a rotund man in a red suit (the sun) bringing gifts in December.
Why does it matter? It matter because literal interpretations remove us from responsibilities, namely, responsibility for ourselves, responsibility for others, and responsibility for the earth. Why do I think all this is important? Important enough to spend this time writing about it? Precisely because I am a child of this planet and universe. I am part of the Winter Solstice and the Winter Solstice is part of me. If I do not understand that, I do not understand what it means to be human. The old hymn which said, “This world is not my home, I’m just a stranger here…” had it all wrong, as does any religion or theology which teaches that. This world is my home and I do not want to be a stranger here. I want to love it and care for it and preserve it. I want to make it a more beautiful place than when I arrived
I conclude with the Eskimo myth of the raven and the return of the sun:
“A LONG TIME AGO THE RAVEN LOOKED DOWN FROM THE SKY AND SAW THAT THE PEOPLE OF THE WORLD WERE LIVING IN DARKNESS. THE BALL OF LIGHT WAS KEPT HIDDEN BY A SELFISH OLD CHIEF. SO THE RAVEN TURNED HIMSELF INTO A SPRUCE NEEDLE AND FLOATED ON THE RIVER WHERE THE CHIEFS DAUGHTER CAME FOR WATER. SHE DRANK THE SPRUCE NEEDLE. SHE BECAME PREGNANT AND GAVE BIRTH TO A BOY WHO WAS THE RAVEN IN DISGUISE. THE BOY CRIED AND CRIED UNTIL THE CHIEF GAVE HIM THE BALL OF LIGHT TO PLAY WITH. AS SOON AS HE HAD THE LIGHT THE RAVEN TURNED BACK INTO HIMSELF. HE CARRIED THE LIGHT BACK INTO THE SKY. FROM THEN ON WE NO LONGER LIVED IN DARKNESS.” AN ESKIMO MYTH FROM NORTHERN EXPOSURE, YEAR 3, EPISODE 10, “SEOUL MATES”
THE WINTER SOLSTICE 2012
“THE ULTIMATE POWER IS THE SUN”
The Winter Solstice will occur again this year right on schedule, December 21 (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_solstice) . For some reason, food has been much in my thoughts this year. Not what we eat or how we prepare it, both large economic industries in our society, but WHERE our food comes from and HOW we get and process it for our use. Here are some general observations and assumptions that will provide groundwork for what I am thinking:
Plants are the natural and only source of sustenance for human (animal) life on planet Earth.
Plants create what other forms of life require to exist through the process called photosynthesis (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/photosynthesis) Photosynthesis occurs on earth because of the earth’s relationship to the (a) SUN. I started to say “unique relationship to the sun” but I don’t know if it is unique or not in the universe. Light from the sun, therefore, is the ultimate source of life on earth. And for the most part (I’m hedging here) the relationship between the sun and earth during the earth’s 4.45 billion year history has been steady, reliable, and predictable. One benefit we humans derive from this reliability is the ability to predict the seasons: Summer, Winter, Fall, and Spring. And in turn, that enables us to control the production of plants (agriculture). This has not always been so. In fact, if we posit the appearance of modern humans at 45,000 years ago, the ability to control plants (agriculture) appeared only about 8,000 years ago. So, you may ask, what did our human ancestors do for food before agriculture? The answer is, they simply existed on what was available in their environment. Here is a brief and very simplified history of human food-getting on the planet:
Hunters and gatherers. For that long period from about 45,000 BN (Before Now) to 8,000 BN, our ancestors were hunters and gatherers. The men (age 12 and up) hunted wild animals and the women gathered food available around the site where they lived at the moment. Their groups were small, mobile, and not socially structured hierarchically. One Hundred percent of adults in the group were required to participate is sustenance activities – food-getting. The primary energy source was human muscle power. They had simple technology and no specialists. The great animal myths came from this era as human groups (cultures) relied on animals as a major resource for both food and building supplies such as hides and bones. Evidently, killing fellow animals imbued in humans both conscience and guilt as reflected in those early myths.
Horticulture. Horticulture was a transitional period from hunting and gathering to agriculture. During this time people, mostly the women, observed and learned to plant seeds. At first simply in holes made with a sharp stick. But over time, more and more efficiently. This produced a little more food and freed a few people of having to hunt or gather and enabled them to work as specialists in activities like the priesthood or research and development. Now only ninety-five percent of adults were required to do sustenance activities. Human muscle power was beginning to be supplemented with domesticated animal energy as well as solar energy. Technology improved and expanded to the point that about 8,000 years ago the first great revolution in human history occurred : AGRICULTURE.
AGRICULTURE. Agriculture was the midwife of civilization: settled communities (towns and cities), specialization exploded, trade expanded leading to cultural cross-fertilization, education, science and technology grew exponentially. The percentage of those required to work on the farms dropped enormously, probably below fifty percent. Populations exploded as death rates dropped and birth rates continued high. Writing preserved knowledge and wisdom from generation to generation. Now, the major source of energy was animal muscle and solar energy. You get the idea. Nevertheless, food production was a major activity for large numbers of the populations until the next great revolution about 175-200 years ago: THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION. (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/agriculture}
THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION. The Industrial Revolution was born with the discovery and utilization of a new source of energy, fossil fuel (coal and oil). In his book, Undaunted Courage, Stephen Ambrose wrote, “In 1804, nothing moved faster than a horse.” That was about to change. Steam engines replaced horses and sails. With high heat from coal, steel was forged. Railroad tracks spanned the continent of North America by 1869. The automobile replaced the horse and buggy. Tractors replaced mules and horses as farming was industrialized. Society was transformed with population shifts from rural to urban centers. When people met new people they didn’t ask, who is your father? But, what do you do? A fundamental shift in self-identification. Do you know what percentage of the population works in American agriculture today? About 2.5 percent.
So, my solstice question is: How do we get our food?
I remember going to my grandparents’ farm to watch the hog killing in the Fall of the year. I remember my grandmother “canning” great amounts of food in those Mason jars in huge boilers on the wood stove after working hard all spring and summer in the “garden” larger than an acre which had been fertilized with manure from the barn lot. That is not how I get my food.
I was in NewFoundland last Fall and heard about men getting ready to go into the woods to “harvest” their moose for the winter. That is not how I get my food.
Catching fish and drying them for winter consumption? That is not how I get my food.
I get my food from Krogers. I don’t slaughter my meat. I don’t grow and can my vegetables. I don’t grow my grain and take it to the mill. I don’t milk cows twice a day to get my dairy products.
I walk into Krogers, the front of which now looks like a temple, and there it is. All the food I need. Every time I walk into Krogers I am reminded of how separated I am from the sources of my food. It makes me feel alienated from nature in a fundamental way. But it also makes me so glad that getting food is so easy for me. No labor, other than pushing a cart, is required on my part. And that’s a good thing because my grandmother used to say, “That Mack is the laziest child I’ve ever seen.” She was right, too. But I try to think seriously about the growers, the harvesters, the meat packers, the processors, the teamsters, and the shelf stockers and clerks who assist me.
Some anthropologists think that religion and myths emerged out of the human necessity and endeavor to get food. Evidence of this is the creation of animal myths and the ritual celebrations at times in the agricultural cycle of death (Fall), burial (Winter) and resurrection (Spring). The Winter Solstice is an annual symbol of hope and reassurance that even when things seem the darkest, the sun will rise tomorrow, the days will get longer, and the time of renewal and rebirth is just around the corner, come March and April. A fundamental question is how do we moderns respond spiritually to the origins and sources of our daily sustenance – our food. For me, I depend on Kroger and have penned a prayer:
Oh Kroger, our Kroger, how great thou art among all the stores of the earth.
Thy aisles are wide, thy shelves are stocked and thou dost provide for our every need.
I am comforted by the variety and abundance of thy goods, and rest in the knowledge that thou wilt care and provide for me, even to the end…when I check out.
HAPPY WINTER SOLSTICE TO ALL!
WINTER SOLSTICE MESSAGE 2013
I was planning to write a new WINTER SOLSTICE essay for 2013 but have decided to reissue my piece from 2009. I made the decision based on the illusion (perhaps delusion) that if people but knew history and facts about how things came to be, they would not continue to hold beliefs that are contrary to fact. I made this decision in spite of Jonothan Swift’s admonition that “It is useless to attempt to reason a man out of a thing he was never reasoned into.”
From the postings on Facebook it seems some Christians are still concerned about somebody trying to take Christ out of Christmas. I don’t know why they are so threatened. As far as I know, every Christian family, every Christian Church, every Christian organization, and every Christian individual is still free to celebrate Christmas as they wish. The only restriction – if it is a restriction – is that Christians as well as any other religious group – may not usurp that which is PUBLIC for their private religious purposes.
Well, if you are interested in my thoughts, and I don’t know why you should be, I refer you back to the 2009 blog if you have not read it recently.
The blog for 2014 is under construction and should be ready to publish by December 21.
THE WINTER SOLSTICE, 2009
Today, December 21st, is the winter solstice, one of the most significant days in the year. Why? Astronomically, it is the point when the sun seems to start back in the opposite direction. If you have noticed, since about June 21 days have been getting shorter and nights longer, so that on December 21 the shortest day, and, hence, the longest night, of the year occurs. For us in the moderate climes (latitudes) it doesn’t make a lot of difference, but if you lived at the North Pole (or the South Pole) your days and nights would be exceedingly long.
Metaphorically, human cultures have developed religious and symbolic explanations and ritual celebrations in conjunction with the ebb and flow of the seasons, especially in relation to the winter solstice in the northern hemisphere. For example, Eskimo culture, experiencing long periods of darkness, developed the following metaphoric explanation: once upon a time, the evil king stole the sun from the sky and put it in a box in his palace. Through divine intervention, including the miraculous birth of his grandson, the sun was rescued on December 21 and restored to its rightful place in the sky. The return of the sun was indeed something to celebrate! Other cultures, especially of the far north climes, developed stories and symbols celebrating the sun’s return: a rotund man dressed in red (the sun) bringing gifts (light); evergreen trees indicating that life persists, even in the midst of darkness; wreaths, evergreen circles symbolizing the continuous cycle of the seasons and the unending persistence of life.
The December celebration in the Roman Empire in the first century was called the “Saturnalia,” in honor of the god Saturn and marked the return of the “Golden Age.” The celebration lasted for seven days and was a time of feasting and gift-giving. The genius of the early Christian church was that it had the capacity to incorporate existing pre-Christian rituals and celebrations into its own annual calendar by giving those celebrations Christian content and meaning. By celebrating the birth of Christ in late December – scholars agree that this was not the actual time of his birth – the early church was greatly assisted in its efforts to convert non-Christians to its faith.
The Santa Claus figure was incorporated into Christmas celebrations through a mingling of both Christian and non-Christian sources. Santa Claus, a rotund (round) figure all dressed in red (the sun) who came from the North Pole (arctic darkness), bringing gifts (light) slowly became a central metaphorical symbol associated with an historic figure from the fourth century, Saint Nicholas (in Holland, Sinter Klaas). St. Nicholas’ death was celebrated in early December and was marked by feasting and gift-giving. Parents would encourage “proper” behavior in their children by telling them that if they were “good,” St. Nicholas would bring them gifts.
Our celebrations of Christmas, thus, derive from many cultures and many sources, all ultimately related to the winter solstice. For Christians, it is a time to celebrate the birth of Jesus, the coming of the son, God made flesh. For the larger culture, it is a time for feasting, family reunions, and gift-giving. For commercial enterprises it is time for exploiting the generous spirit of the season, thus generating the largest profits of the year. For everyone, it is a time to celebrate the oneness of our common humanity on planet Earth, 93 million miles from the sun and tilted at 23.5 degrees.
So, in the spirit of generosity and tolerance, let me wish you a season, however you celebrate it, of joy, happiness, and above all, LIGHT (both literally and figuratively)!
WINTER SOLSTICE 2010
One of the most significant natural events of our planet Earth will occur next Tuesday, December 21. This event has inspired the creation of religions, folktales, mythologies, celebrations, festivals, and holidays through the ages. And yet its coming will go largely, if not completely, unnoticed by the vast majority of people as they go merrily on their way preparing to celebrate the holiday most inspired by this natural event, at least in western culture…Christmas. This event is the Winter Solstice.
A brief background. As our earthly home makes its annual trip around the sun, jauntily tilted at about 23.5 degrees, there are two significant points in its orbit, the Summer Solstice and the Winter Solstice, and two mildly interesting points, the Equanoxes. The Solstices are significant because they mark the beginning of the change in the length of days. On, or about, June 21, days begin to get shorter until they reach the shortest day of the Year, December 21, the Winter Solstice, at which point days begin to get longer until they reach the longest day of the year, June 21. Mid-way between these two points (in March and September) daylight and darkness are equal. Thus, we have the making of “seasons,” Summer, Fall, Winter and Spring. And in turn, the seasons define the agricultural round of the year which enables our very existence. It is quite understandable that our ancestors would celebrate this “return of the sun” because it was the assurance that they would not have to continue living in darkness, that Spring would follow winter and that life on earth would be renewed. Metaphorical interpretations become associated with the seasons: Winter (dormancy, death), Spring (new life, resurrection), Summer (growth, rest), Fall (harvest, thanksgiving). In particular, the Winter Solstice has been celebrated as the return of the sun (light) and personified as the round jolly man in the bright red suit. Most of us now participate in the “celebrations” of various holidays but have not the slightest clue as to their origins and meaning in the natural world. I wonder why that is!
Let me suggest some reasons. The first is our general ignorance and distrust of science (natural explanations). While our educational system gives a general nod to science, unless one is a science major, one does not acquire an in-depth understanding of the processes and rhythms of the earth. This is further exacerbated by the second reason, namely our separation and alienation from natural processes. Most of us live in cities and suburban places. We do not grow our own food or even see those who do. We have no idea of what is required to run a farm and no knowledge of the demands of changing seasons. The third reason for our general ignorance is our fear to grasp our full humanity and embrace our natural world. Instead, the metaphors that our ancestors created as explanations for their experiences of the world have become codified into literal explanations. In other words, originally, nature informed myth; now myth informs nature (the world) In scientific terminology, the independent and dependent variables have been switched. For example, the Eskimo experience of the Winter Solstice preceded and inspired their creation of the metaphor (story, myth) of the Raven. The Raven metaphor did not come first. It came after the experience of the days getting longer. I suppose you can tell I have been skirting issues related to our own culture. But to be honest let me be plain spoken: In agreement with what I have written, I believe the concept “God” is a metaphor created my our ancestors. Another way of stating it is: “And man created god in his own image.” (That is what I meant when I said the independent and dependent variables have been switched.)
While the return of the sun is a relatively minor event in our lives at this latitude, if you lived in the far North it would be a huge event. Why? Because you would have been living in the dark for six months.
THE WINTER SOLSTICE, 2011
MACK’S ANNUAL SOLSTICE RAMBLINGS
Greetings on this Winter Solstice of 2011. I have just come from Starbucks where I greeted people with, “Happy Winter Solstice!.” To my amazement and dismay, not one person knew that today is the Winter Solstice. I believe it is the most significant day in the natural, evolutionary, and human history of the planet Earth. In the natural cycles of the planet, today marks the end of the six month march toward darkness and the beginning of the march toward light, or the beginning of the planting, growing, and harvesting season. Without this agricultural cycle we simply would not exist. Metaphorically, the Winter Solstice has inspired the mythologies and religions of human cultures. The impact of the WS on the creation and evolution of mythologies and religions cannot be overstated. Yet, modern humans are almost totally unaware of this connection. Why? I think there are two reasons to account for this lack of knowledge. The first is that modern humans are separated/alienated from the natural world. We do not plants seeds, we do not grow crops, we do not slaughter hogs or cows, we do not shovel animal waste (or human waste). Thus, the “signs” of nature are unknown to us. Where the sun is in the sky is of no consequence for urban schedules.
The second reason why people do not know today’s meaning is because modern humans interpret mythologies and religious writings literally and supernaturally rather than metaphorically. Scholars have long known that the Christian church adopted the Roman celebration of the Saturnalia in late December as the birthday of Jesus. Rather than metaphor, most people view it literally. Cultures in the far north, particularly, have “stories” (myths or folktales) of a rotund man in a red suit (the sun) bringing gifts in December.
Why does it matter? It matter because literal interpretations remove us from responsibilities, namely, responsibility for ourselves, responsibility for others, and responsibility for the earth. Why do I think all this is important? Important enough to spend this time writing about it? Precisely because I am a child of this planet and universe. I am part of the Winter Solstice and the Winter Solstice is part of me. If I do not understand that, I do not understand what it means to be human. The old hymn which said, “This world is not my home, I’m just a stranger here…” had it all wrong, as does any religion or theology which teaches that. This world is my home and I do not want to be a stranger here. I want to love it and care for it and preserve it. I want to make it a more beautiful place than when I arrived
I conclude with the Eskimo myth of the raven and the return of the sun:
“A LONG TIME AGO THE RAVEN LOOKED DOWN FROM THE SKY AND SAW THAT THE PEOPLE OF THE WORLD WERE LIVING IN DARKNESS. THE BALL OF LIGHT WAS KEPT HIDDEN BY A SELFISH OLD CHIEF. SO THE RAVEN TURNED HIMSELF INTO A SPRUCE NEEDLE AND FLOATED ON THE RIVER WHERE THE CHIEFS DAUGHTER CAME FOR WATER. SHE DRANK THE SPRUCE NEEDLE. SHE BECAME PREGNANT AND GAVE BIRTH TO A BOY WHO WAS THE RAVEN IN DISGUISE. THE BOY CRIED AND CRIED UNTIL THE CHIEF GAVE HIM THE BALL OF LIGHT TO PLAY WITH. AS SOON AS HE HAD THE LIGHT THE RAVEN TURNED BACK INTO HIMSELF. HE CARRIED THE LIGHT BACK INTO THE SKY. FROM THEN ON WE NO LONGER LIVED IN DARKNESS.” AN ESKIMO MYTH FROM NORTHERN EXPOSURE, YEAR 3, EPISODE 10, “SEOUL MATES”
THE WINTER SOLSTICE 2012
“THE ULTIMATE POWER IS THE SUN”
The Winter Solstice will occur again this year right on schedule, December 21 (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_solstice) . For some reason, food has been much in my thoughts this year. Not what we eat or how we prepare it, both large economic industries in our society, but WHERE our food comes from and HOW we get and process it for our use. Here are some general observations and assumptions that will provide groundwork for what I am thinking:
Plants are the natural and only source of sustenance for human (animal) life on planet Earth.
Plants create what other forms of life require to exist through the process called photosynthesis (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/photosynthesis) Photosynthesis occurs on earth because of the earth’s relationship to the (a) SUN. I started to say “unique relationship to the sun” but I don’t know if it is unique or not in the universe. Light from the sun, therefore, is the ultimate source of life on earth. And for the most part (I’m hedging here) the relationship between the sun and earth during the earth’s 4.45 billion year history has been steady, reliable, and predictable. One benefit we humans derive from this reliability is the ability to predict the seasons: Summer, Winter, Fall, and Spring. And in turn, that enables us to control the production of plants (agriculture). This has not always been so. In fact, if we posit the appearance of modern humans at 45,000 years ago, the ability to control plants (agriculture) appeared only about 8,000 years ago. So, you may ask, what did our human ancestors do for food before agriculture? The answer is, they simply existed on what was available in their environment. Here is a brief and very simplified history of human food-getting on the planet:
Hunters and gatherers. For that long period from about 45,000 BN (Before Now) to 8,000 BN, our ancestors were hunters and gatherers. The men (age 12 and up) hunted wild animals and the women gathered food available around the site where they lived at the moment. Their groups were small, mobile, and not socially structured hierarchically. One Hundred percent of adults in the group were required to participate is sustenance activities – food-getting. The primary energy source was human muscle power. They had simple technology and no specialists. The great animal myths came from this era as human groups (cultures) relied on animals as a major resource for both food and building supplies such as hides and bones. Evidently, killing fellow animals imbued in humans both conscience and guilt as reflected in those early myths.
Horticulture. Horticulture was a transitional period from hunting and gathering to agriculture. During this time people, mostly the women, observed and learned to plant seeds. At first simply in holes made with a sharp stick. But over time, more and more efficiently. This produced a little more food and freed a few people of having to hunt or gather and enabled them to work as specialists in activities like the priesthood or research and development. Now only ninety-five percent of adults were required to do sustenance activities. Human muscle power was beginning to be supplemented with domesticated animal energy as well as solar energy. Technology improved and expanded to the point that about 8,000 years ago the first great revolution in human history occurred : AGRICULTURE.
AGRICULTURE. Agriculture was the midwife of civilization: settled communities (towns and cities), specialization exploded, trade expanded leading to cultural cross-fertilization, education, science and technology grew exponentially. The percentage of those required to work on the farms dropped enormously, probably below fifty percent. Populations exploded as death rates dropped and birth rates continued high. Writing preserved knowledge and wisdom from generation to generation. Now, the major source of energy was animal muscle and solar energy. You get the idea. Nevertheless, food production was a major activity for large numbers of the populations until the next great revolution about 175-200 years ago: THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION. (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/agriculture}
THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION. The Industrial Revolution was born with the discovery and utilization of a new source of energy, fossil fuel (coal and oil). In his book, Undaunted Courage, Stephen Ambrose wrote, “In 1804, nothing moved faster than a horse.” That was about to change. Steam engines replaced horses and sails. With high heat from coal, steel was forged. Railroad tracks spanned the continent of North America by 1869. The automobile replaced the horse and buggy. Tractors replaced mules and horses as farming was industrialized. Society was transformed with population shifts from rural to urban centers. When people met new people they didn’t ask, who is your father? But, what do you do? A fundamental shift in self-identification. Do you know what percentage of the population works in American agriculture today? About 2.5 percent.
So, my solstice question is: How do we get our food?
I remember going to my grandparents’ farm to watch the hog killing in the Fall of the year. I remember my grandmother “canning” great amounts of food in those Mason jars in huge boilers on the wood stove after working hard all spring and summer in the “garden” larger than an acre which had been fertilized with manure from the barn lot. That is not how I get my food.
I was in NewFoundland last Fall and heard about men getting ready to go into the woods to “harvest” their moose for the winter. That is not how I get my food.
Catching fish and drying them for winter consumption? That is not how I get my food.
I get my food from Krogers. I don’t slaughter my meat. I don’t grow and can my vegetables. I don’t grow my grain and take it to the mill. I don’t milk cows twice a day to get my dairy products.
I walk into Krogers, the front of which now looks like a temple, and there it is. All the food I need. Every time I walk into Krogers I am reminded of how separated I am from the sources of my food. It makes me feel alienated from nature in a fundamental way. But it also makes me so glad that getting food is so easy for me. No labor, other than pushing a cart, is required on my part. And that’s a good thing because my grandmother used to say, “That Mack is the laziest child I’ve ever seen.” She was right, too. But I try to think seriously about the growers, the harvesters, the meat packers, the processors, the teamsters, and the shelf stockers and clerks who assist me.
Some anthropologists think that religion and myths emerged out of the human necessity and endeavor to get food. Evidence of this is the creation of animal myths and the ritual celebrations at times in the agricultural cycle of death (Fall), burial (Winter) and resurrection (Spring). The Winter Solstice is an annual symbol of hope and reassurance that even when things seem the darkest, the sun will rise tomorrow, the days will get longer, and the time of renewal and rebirth is just around the corner, come March and April. A fundamental question is how do we moderns respond spiritually to the origins and sources of our daily sustenance – our food. For me, I depend on Kroger and have penned a prayer:
Oh Kroger, our Kroger, how great thou art among all the stores of the earth.
Thy aisles are wide, thy shelves are stocked and thou dost provide for our every need.
I am comforted by the variety and abundance of thy goods, and rest in the knowledge that thou wilt care and provide for me, even to the end…when I check out.
HAPPY WINTER SOLSTICE TO ALL!
WINTER SOLSTICE MESSAGE 2013
I was planning to write a new WINTER SOLSTICE essay for 2013 but have decided to reissue my piece from 2009. I made the decision based on the illusion (perhaps delusion) that if people but knew history and facts about how things came to be, they would not continue to hold beliefs that are contrary to fact. I made this decision in spite of Jonothan Swift’s admonition that “It is useless to attempt to reason a man out of a thing he was never reasoned into.”
From the postings on Facebook it seems some Christians are still concerned about somebody trying to take Christ out of Christmas. I don’t know why they are so threatened. As far as I know, every Christian family, every Christian Church, every Christian organization, and every Christian individual is still free to celebrate Christmas as they wish. The only restriction – if it is a restriction – is that Christians as well as any other religious group – may not usurp that which is PUBLIC for their private religious purposes.
Well, if you are interested in my thoughts, and I don’t know why you should be, I refer you back to the 2009 blog if you have not read it recently.
The blog for 2014 is under construction and should be ready to publish by December 21.
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