Recently I’ve been pondering the metaphysical aspects of money, not least that it destroys everything it touches. It is a universal solvent and destructive beyond belief
As we have increased in wealth our destructive capacity seems to grow in tandem, the very destruction the ‘economy’ requires.
And as you’re somewhat closer now to John Peel country you might spare a thought for the marginal farmer in a fallen world who needs to keep foxes down :)
Paul Kingsnorth has a fantastic piece on the destructiveness of money in his book Savage Gods. I will send it to you if you haven't got access to a copy. Also, I have just finished reading Steinbeck's short story the Pearl, which is an extended parable about the destructiveness of money/greed and how it can literally rip apart a community. Well worth reading.
It is no wonder that Jesus so often preached about the dangers of mammon. As always, He knew our hearts.
Sedbergh, it's cold and damp, but that is what you can expect from up north! Makes the sunny days even more special
Thanks fpr the heads up on Savage Gods. It’s buried in my study somewhere :)
As to the cold and damp of Sedbergh - I can almost smell it :) I’d be interested to hear of KL. There was a terrible fire there recently on the Main Street. Destroyed a gem of a shop owned by a family we’d grown up with.
I am reminded of a quote from the writer and naturalist Gerald Durrell. "We have been placed in charge of a beautiful garden, and we are destroying it with the complacency of an idiot child chopping up a Rembrandt with a pair of scissors".
This is a needed word, and an inspiring one for me personally. I don't have the words at the moment to describe its impact on me, but know that it is adding to the turning of the wheels in my mind on the subject of creativity, and a life lived in harmony with the beauty of the created world.
This essay is beautiful and to add the support of those who have gone before, as others have been doing, it is a very Tolkien-ish line of thought. Tolkien, as a creative artist, very deeply believed that since we are created by a Creator, it is our role to continue to create, or, as he called it, to sub-create. Though many people link "creativity" to the fine arts, e.g. painting, writing, and drawing, I love how you also link creativity and stewardship to other activities such as farming and gardening. May more people learn this lesson in the future: Creation, not destruction.
Thanks Titus for this, very much appreciated. I had only recently read about Tolkien's idea of sub-creation and your comment has inspired me to dig deeper into his concept.
From The Prelude,the long poem William Wordsworth wrote about his childhood find the passage where he describes himself a ten year old boy going nutting. In a grove of Hazel bushes in the woodland,the boy fills the basket with ripe hazelnuts then,boys will be boys,embarks on an orgy of destruction,his vigour freshly fueled by the success of the trampled branches everywhere from his wild assaults. The world was big enough and the population low enough (even then) to get away with that sort of thing. And him an icon of environmentalism too!
"...mankind's bent towards destructiveness is a severe malady..." I can't help but think about the "wreckovation" of the Second Vatican Council, a deliberate act to destroy the Old Faith.
“And an action without value and devoid of beauty is probably something we ought not to do.”
I worry that for many people this statement is an obstacle to almost all employment. I feel very fortunate to work in an environment that not only makes beautiful objects, but focusses on what I consider to be beautiful, integrity-based processes. I wrote recently that the true legacy of our studio is not in the objects we create but in the acts that we have undertaken and inspired. So much of the marketplace now is utterly devoid of beauty and value—I would (will?) have a very difficult time moving on to another means of making a living should this position end.
Hi Hadden
Thanks as always
Most perceptive
Recently I’ve been pondering the metaphysical aspects of money, not least that it destroys everything it touches. It is a universal solvent and destructive beyond belief
As we have increased in wealth our destructive capacity seems to grow in tandem, the very destruction the ‘economy’ requires.
And as you’re somewhat closer now to John Peel country you might spare a thought for the marginal farmer in a fallen world who needs to keep foxes down :)
Trust Sedbergh isn’t too chilly!
Kindest
Eric
Thanks Eric,
Paul Kingsnorth has a fantastic piece on the destructiveness of money in his book Savage Gods. I will send it to you if you haven't got access to a copy. Also, I have just finished reading Steinbeck's short story the Pearl, which is an extended parable about the destructiveness of money/greed and how it can literally rip apart a community. Well worth reading.
It is no wonder that Jesus so often preached about the dangers of mammon. As always, He knew our hearts.
Sedbergh, it's cold and damp, but that is what you can expect from up north! Makes the sunny days even more special
Thanks fpr the heads up on Savage Gods. It’s buried in my study somewhere :)
As to the cold and damp of Sedbergh - I can almost smell it :) I’d be interested to hear of KL. There was a terrible fire there recently on the Main Street. Destroyed a gem of a shop owned by a family we’d grown up with.
I am reminded of a quote from the writer and naturalist Gerald Durrell. "We have been placed in charge of a beautiful garden, and we are destroying it with the complacency of an idiot child chopping up a Rembrandt with a pair of scissors".
That is a brilliant quote! I am going to use that in the future. Thanks Rachael for sharing it.
This is a needed word, and an inspiring one for me personally. I don't have the words at the moment to describe its impact on me, but know that it is adding to the turning of the wheels in my mind on the subject of creativity, and a life lived in harmony with the beauty of the created world.
"For man is never truly himself except when he is actively creating something." -Dorothy Sayers
Made in God's image, we are meant to create (and conserve) what is good.
This essay is beautiful and to add the support of those who have gone before, as others have been doing, it is a very Tolkien-ish line of thought. Tolkien, as a creative artist, very deeply believed that since we are created by a Creator, it is our role to continue to create, or, as he called it, to sub-create. Though many people link "creativity" to the fine arts, e.g. painting, writing, and drawing, I love how you also link creativity and stewardship to other activities such as farming and gardening. May more people learn this lesson in the future: Creation, not destruction.
Thanks Titus for this, very much appreciated. I had only recently read about Tolkien's idea of sub-creation and your comment has inspired me to dig deeper into his concept.
Wonderful.
Well said! Thank you.
From The Prelude,the long poem William Wordsworth wrote about his childhood find the passage where he describes himself a ten year old boy going nutting. In a grove of Hazel bushes in the woodland,the boy fills the basket with ripe hazelnuts then,boys will be boys,embarks on an orgy of destruction,his vigour freshly fueled by the success of the trampled branches everywhere from his wild assaults. The world was big enough and the population low enough (even then) to get away with that sort of thing. And him an icon of environmentalism too!
"...mankind's bent towards destructiveness is a severe malady..." I can't help but think about the "wreckovation" of the Second Vatican Council, a deliberate act to destroy the Old Faith.
Beautifully said.
“And an action without value and devoid of beauty is probably something we ought not to do.”
I worry that for many people this statement is an obstacle to almost all employment. I feel very fortunate to work in an environment that not only makes beautiful objects, but focusses on what I consider to be beautiful, integrity-based processes. I wrote recently that the true legacy of our studio is not in the objects we create but in the acts that we have undertaken and inspired. So much of the marketplace now is utterly devoid of beauty and value—I would (will?) have a very difficult time moving on to another means of making a living should this position end.