This morning I rode my bike to the bank around 8:00am. Probably the best thing one can do around that time of day in my opinion, although to call me an early riser is an understatement. The scenery was breathtaking. If ever you forget how beautiful Fairhope is, just bike. Sometimes i think i live in Magic Kingdom.
The weeks home from school before my trip to Oxford have been simply aesthetic. I had no idea how much time I'd spent indoors this semester until I played outside every day. This revelation (which hit me as I was biking) is what brings me to the Hedges. I was looking at the hedges and thinking about how something in the giant bulk of green touches the deepest parts of my soul. It doesn't make sense, it doesn't have to. We are in part, animals. And we forget that in our lecture halls and final exams. We are afraid of our skin, and we retreat to our brains. I hope that I never become so intellectual that I forget that intellect is a gift. Like being a soccer player, so is being a sociologist. It is not "higher'' it is a different type of skill. Something modern education has simply forgotten or ignored- we are not all smart. And for the fortunate few, who can use their brains to abstract formulas and complicated concepts- theres is a place and a purpose, in some ways of great importance, and in someways not as important as someone who can fix my flat tire. I hope I never forget the southern beauty of landscape, and the fact that Love and selflessness can be known and expressed without intellect.
In the end, the books don't matter. And books mean everything. Read all the books, see all the hedges.
The weeks home from school before my trip to Oxford have been simply aesthetic. I had no idea how much time I'd spent indoors this semester until I played outside every day. This revelation (which hit me as I was biking) is what brings me to the Hedges. I was looking at the hedges and thinking about how something in the giant bulk of green touches the deepest parts of my soul. It doesn't make sense, it doesn't have to. We are in part, animals. And we forget that in our lecture halls and final exams. We are afraid of our skin, and we retreat to our brains. I hope that I never become so intellectual that I forget that intellect is a gift. Like being a soccer player, so is being a sociologist. It is not "higher'' it is a different type of skill. Something modern education has simply forgotten or ignored- we are not all smart. And for the fortunate few, who can use their brains to abstract formulas and complicated concepts- theres is a place and a purpose, in some ways of great importance, and in someways not as important as someone who can fix my flat tire. I hope I never forget the southern beauty of landscape, and the fact that Love and selflessness can be known and expressed without intellect.
In the end, the books don't matter. And books mean everything. Read all the books, see all the hedges.
No comments:
Post a Comment