Hi Tanya. I submitted a piece a few months ago following a session from you that was part of our MA at Bath Spa. It was called 'Tapping' and was about my Father-in-law, Derek.
I would like to submit the below piece about Longing for wilderness.
Hope you are as well a can be expected. So sorry to hear about your mum.
Hi Tanya. I submitted a piece a few months ago following a session from you that was part of our MA at Bath Spa. It was called 'Tapping' and was about my Father-in-law, Derek.
I would like to submit the below piece about Longing for wilderness.
Hope you are as well a can be expected. So sorry to hear about your mum.
Warm regards
Jo Baker
Longing for wilderness
I am sitting on a mountain top in Switzerland yearning for wilderness.
I reach out for it with both palms, with all my being.
I imagine I have clasped it, then it blows away like a dandelion seed, whisked up into thermal currents, higher and higher until it disappears.
What is wilderness? Wildness, loneliness, being alone?
Many religious leaders, pilgrims and vagrants experienced solitude. Christians believe that Jesus sought quietness, time away from crowds, space to meditate. The bible recounts stories of him retreating into the mountains or the desert. St Cuthbert used to stand in the sea just off the shoreline of Lindisfarne and today pilgrims trek along the Santiago de Compestela trails searching for answers to life’s questions.
People head for the mountains when they have a decision to make. This can be a pilgrimage to a known or unknown place, or simply a way of finding the peace and rest that we desire.
Wilderness represents a place where there is little life: a desert, a derelict piece of land or the top of a mountain where the wind blows on your cheeks and the air smells fresh.
Wildness, on the other hand, makes me think of uncontrolled and untamed landscapes, such as our garden or the courtyard nearby where ivy winds around the pillar in a figure-of-eight, like a Christmas tree adorned with green ribbons.
I want it to stay like this: a blend of rural and urban, because I am a mixture too. I would never rip off the ivy. I would trace the patterns to appreciate its route, to celebrate its audacity. If it were left alone, it would flower and fruit next year. If it were removed it would leave behind an imprint of its journey embedded in the bricks.
Hello Joanne. How lovely to get a second contribution through from you. I love the searching, explorative nature of this piece, which feels like it could be the start of a longer essay as well as working here as a perfect self-contained piece. And that last line! My mother died on Wednesday morning - and she lived her whole life, like Wordsworth's Lucy, in the few square miles of countryside where she was born. 'If it were removed it would leave behind an imprint of its journey embedded in the bricks.': This is how I feel about this landscape without her in it.
Hi Tanya. I submitted a piece a few months ago following a session from you that was part of our MA at Bath Spa. It was called 'Tapping' and was about my Father-in-law, Derek.
I would like to submit the below piece about Longing for wilderness.
Hope you are as well a can be expected. So sorry to hear about your mum.
Warm regards
Jo Baker
Longing for wilderness
I am sitting on a mountain top in Switzerland yearning for wilderness.
I reach out for it with both palms, with all my being.
I imagine I have clasped it, then it blows away like a dandelion seed, whisked up into thermal currents, higher and higher until it disappears.
What is wilderness? Wildness, loneliness, being alone?
Many religious leaders, pilgrims and vagrants experienced solitude. Christians believe that Jesus sought quietness, time away from crowds, space to meditate. The bible recounts stories of him retreating into the mountains or the desert. St Cuthbert used to stand in the sea just off the shoreline of Lindisfarne and today pilgrims trek along the Santiago de Compestela trails searching for answers to life’s questions.
People head for the mountains when they have a decision to make. This can be a pilgrimage to a known or unknown place, or simply a way of finding the peace and rest that we desire.
Wilderness represents a place where there is little life: a desert, a derelict piece of land or the top of a mountain where the wind blows on your cheeks and the air smells fresh.
Wildness, on the other hand, makes me think of uncontrolled and untamed landscapes, such as our garden or the courtyard nearby where ivy winds around the pillar in a figure-of-eight, like a Christmas tree adorned with green ribbons.
I want it to stay like this: a blend of rural and urban, because I am a mixture too. I would never rip off the ivy. I would trace the patterns to appreciate its route, to celebrate its audacity. If it were left alone, it would flower and fruit next year. If it were removed it would leave behind an imprint of its journey embedded in the bricks.
I look forward to hearing back from you. Jo Baker
Hello Joanne. How lovely to get a second contribution through from you. I love the searching, explorative nature of this piece, which feels like it could be the start of a longer essay as well as working here as a perfect self-contained piece. And that last line! My mother died on Wednesday morning - and she lived her whole life, like Wordsworth's Lucy, in the few square miles of countryside where she was born. 'If it were removed it would leave behind an imprint of its journey embedded in the bricks.': This is how I feel about this landscape without her in it.
Here is your link:
https://thecureforsleep.com/august-issue-longing/#joannebaker
Hello Tanya,
So sorry to hear about your mum.
Thank you for your kind words. I am glad that the last line resonated with you. I found your thoughts really moving and emotional.
Do take care.
Warm wishes
Jo
Thank you Jo xxx