Merry Christmas! Happy Hanukkah! Merry Yule! Happy Solstice! Blessings for Everyone!
And a simple prayer for the season:
“Peace be unto all the world over, under Thy Will, O God.” (Guru Nanak, 1469-1539 AD)
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Posts tagged as:
winter
Eight years ago, I had the opportunity to photograph the community of monks at the Weston Priory, for a piece that ran in Vermont magazine.
I think of them now, at this time of the Winter Solstice, Christmas and Hanukkah – the return of the Light – and how they represent our better natures.
They would probably tell you that it IS difficult to build community, BUT with effort, prayer and a conscious commitment to support one another as best as we can, something great can happen. And as difficult as those struggles can be – with oneself, with others, and with our Creator – they are well worth our time and attention.
Here the Brothers gather at their morning meeting, which unfolds in prayer, song, readings and discussion of the day’s plans.
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The title here is a nod to a (quite readable) book by the historian William Cronon, called Changes In The Land: Indians, Colonists and the Ecology of New England, found here. Anyone interested in early colonial New England and particularly the convergence of the Native American and European cultures at that time may find it worthwhile. The book is perhaps most succinctly summarized by one Amazon reviewer, who says: “Indians hunted for dinner and not for the market.” Cronon explores the many facets of that notion, including, interestingly enough, the role of status anxiety in both the cultures. That’s one thing that hasn’t changed much over the years.
Alternate title for this image: Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes. RIP David Bowie.
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There’s a bit of melancholy here, a yearning; the sap is running and the maple syrup season in full swing but these buckets are sidelined (“Put me in, coach!!”). But at least they’re piled in an accessible place; ready for a hardy soul – still sugaring the old way – to put them to use once again.
Howard Prussack, a farmer friend, once reminded me how physically demanding maple sugaring can be; getting the sap from buckets to the evaporator requires a lot of heavy lifting. Of course most large scale operations now use saplines, and the power of gravity.
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