Wow! I can’t believe that we are finished. It has been a long and winding road…through the woods! I feel reinforced and challenged now looking back on the past 15 weeks. A lot of my ideas about the genre, about my philosophical perceptions of the natural world, and in my spiritual relationship have been reinforced by the readings we’ve had, and the threads we’ve discussed together. Yet. I also feel that I have been challenged. Specifically, I think that I have been challenged by the scope of the genre. There’s so much more that I want to read and explore. I especially appreciate the text book and the posted readings, which I am going to delve into further and re-read as well.
Moreover, this course has provided me with a time in my hectic life to reconnect with the land and water that revitalizes me. With a new job, two young children, a wife who doesn’t work and needs me to relieve her of her rug-rat duties as much (or should I say as little) as I have the time to, I can’t really carve out the time to go outside. But this course has allowed me to do that, has given me the excuse. And for that…Mel, everyone…thank you!
This connection to the land…any land…it has always been a part of my writing and will continue to be. This class has fostered my ability to look at “nature” through new perspectives, which I feel has strengthened my writing as a whole.
That time has been extremely valuable beyond my writing, too. I really hadn’t made a connection with the land that is my new home, but the weekly place blogs have led me through a path to the land and back to the most important part of my home: my family, my girls.
Hopefully, though, I will get to spend a little bit more time with them after April 20, since I will not be taking six credits…for a little while at least.
Chris, I feel challenged by the scope of the genre and my reading list has grown, too. I look forward to having time to catch-up and in the meantime the "excuse" this course afforded me to notice and think about the world outside my door was an appreciated restorative practice.
ReplyDeleteThe place blogs allowed me to make a connection to the land in my new home too. I know I wouldn't have spent nearly as much time outdoors this semester without the place blogs. The semester has gone by fast; the end seemed to come quite suddenly. I plan on continuing to read in this genre as well, and I'm grateful for the many reading sources we were given this semester.
ReplyDeleteI agree that being forced to spend time working on this blog has been a great gift. Knowing that you are a poetry person, I'm glad you enjoyed your blogging.
ReplyDeleteI'm amazed that you managed to not only get outside this much all semester but at the resulting meditations on those excursions. Do you realize these entries equal 14,227 words? All wonderful and all I'm so honored to have been able to read.
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