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Show THE MOUNTAIN PAGE FLOWER The Wilderness INNOCENT BYSTANDER 'Father Always I feel we should now turn our attention to less divisive subjects and work together for peace in our family: To this end, I am off on a grand tour of Europe to discuss our mutual problems with other heads of households in order that we may build an even better house. KAYO ROBERTSON I would like to say a few words about wilderness and what tire concept of wilderness means to me. There is a lot of talk about wilderness of late, and this is good. But mostly what I hear concerns a finite categorization, a defined acreage of land without roads or development designated as such by one government agency or another concerned with managing the land. Contrary to the common meaning of the term, I look upon wilderness as something without a given form or boundaries. I am saying that the conditions of this universe the space, the infinities, the change, the dance is inside of us of energies as well as out, and that by experiencing the universe, we can find a different, more harmonious way of being. Wilderness, then, is a state of mind, a frame of reference, a path connecting the frazzled ends of our developing consciousness with the rest of the universe a way in which the inner spaces of our minds can be reconnected with the outer spaces of the environment in which we find ourselves. The highest goal of man at this time is to regain a sense of harmony with the universe. Wilderness is one path toward this goal. Wilderness is awareness, a complete attentiveness to the moment at hand. It is tuning , oneself out of the past, cutting off all projections into the future and totally realizing the moment we now breathe through. It is a perceptual ' relationship in which perceiver and perceived merge into one. It is a state beyond mere observing, wherein one Stands apart from what is about him. It is, rather, an experience of what is about, and the manifestation of this experience is ecstasy. Within tiie wilderness is an intense humanitarianism that lies beyond the bounds of society and social order. It is a step beyond the confines of ones culture where, for a moment, one can see the birthplace of all culture, religion and philo- God bless America? God bless each and everyone of you! And God help us if the roof falls in! Thank you. The wilderness is a place where nq man can tell who you are, what you are to think, how you are to experience. No Knows Best. By ARTHUR HOPPE Following is the text of an historic address I delivered to my wife at 9 p.m. E.S.T. cm Monday, April 30th: My fellow spouse, I want to talk to you tonight from my heart. It June was. last 17, when I was trying to get a little rest on back porch after my strenuous efforts to make our yard a better yard in which to live, that I first heard re ports of seven termites being found in our basement. While I did not say so at the time, as your husband, I was appalled at this senseless invasion of seven termites in our basement. And I immediately asked younger members of our family, who shall be nameless, to investigate. When they reported there were no more termites in our basement, I believed in them. I had faith in diem. I did not know that in their zeal to spare die neighborhood from worry, they concealed facts from the neighbors, from you and from me. When gossips continued to insist there were more termites in our basement, I repeatedly asked whether this was true. I received repeated reassurances it Was not. Then, last March, new information came to me suggesting a real possibility the charges were true. That was when the kitchen fell in. Now I have always believed, righdy or wrongly, as the father of this family, that maintaining the integrity of this house was a sacred trust. I was determined we should get to the bottom of this matter and the truth should fully be brought out, no matter how many termites were involved. At the same time, I was determined not to take any precipi- - & E L- X by 9 tous action, and to avoid, if at all possible, any action that would appear to reflect on innocent termites. Moreover, while I usually inspect the basement myself, I was extremely busy as you know, painting the living room and building a gazebo. Gazeboes first, basements second. For it is my sacred duty, as head of the household, to make this a better house for all members of our family. Who, then is to blame, for die front wall caving in? The easiest course wpuld be for me to blame those to whom I delegated die responsibility to inspect the basement But that would be the cowardly thing to do. I will not place the blame on subordinates on those whose zeal exceeded their judgment, and who may have done wrong for a father they deeply believed td be right. In any family, the man at the top must bear the responsibility. That responsibility, therefore, belongs to the head of the household. I accept it And I pledge to you tonight, dear, that those who are responsible, other than myself, shall be brought to justice and that all termites shall be purged from this house long after 4 have left it. that, I have devoted already entirely too much of my invaluable time to this whole sordid affair. Having been betrayed by those I trusted to investigate this matter, I have now asked others whom I trust to investigate this matter. And, speaking of MY fwaftjis AK) IlKKUfiP ftp 2 OUT OF IT. Wilderness is a journey into the unknown, a walk through a forest without end. It entails the taking of risks. (Falling off a cliff is just as likely as walking onto a beautiful alpine meadow.) It is a trek which one can share only in part because most it must be walked alone. That is why so few ever really jour- - FRtTRM0?. WWW. leuWH iuurn- emu MY HD ART WOODS. vmw. Dbt Publtahcrm-Ha- ll w Syndicate ney very far into it. We are afraid of being ale. and yet this is the very e Bence of what l am writing about. That is journeying and exploring the very depths of our fears and misGary Snyders conceptions the bade country of our minds for only when we know ourselves can we experience the continuum between inner and outer. And only then can we begin to understand wilderness. And when in the midst of all aching loneliness can one find the courage to make the trek, to continue the exploration? Here we are lucky again, for even the least observant can, to a degree, see. the great faith inherent in wilderness. Wilderness is a faith in the turnings of the Earth, the renewal of the morning, the promise of spring and the security of the unfathomable stars. It is a trust in change and growing things gained through experiencing the world as it is rather than what our limited understanding can make of it. How can one get into wilderness? What does one need? Weve really all the equipment needed locked up in our senses. The unmarked paths of wilderness can be explored mere-o- f .Continued on Subscribe ... losses JM AM. preadents, no prin- voices. X WAS AM ifiUUO UNO. no cipals and no directing rigns. It is a place where you must take your own steps in figuring out what is what. . . here in the wilderness, you are responsible for yourselfl Here, using your own intellect, sense and understanding all the faculties available to here you alone can look you into the void and see your own selfhood therein. Wilderness is a gut feeling where one no longer thinks about belonging because He knows that he belongs; knows that he is Earthbom; that the Earth is his mother and the sun his father; and that his very being is a manifestation of their eternal divine love. It is a knowledge of the rivers pulsing through our veins, the granite and basalt in our bones, the signing of the wind in our breath, the lightning in our eyes and the thunder in our sophy. i- itiSEDuee FWH0R. cops, PAGE 3 |