Tad, I read this yesterday and it has stayed in my foremind since; I am noticing the metal in my life and starting to fathom what it represents. Ooof. Still, thank you. I'd been going through something similar with plastic for years, as part of experimenting about accounting for the actual cost of things, which is part of a bigger experiment about reining in what my consumption costs others, including other-than-humans. Again, despite the pain, thank you. Love, Nicole
parts of this remind me of the Honourable Harvest - popularized by Robin Wall Kimmerer. i've been thinking about animism and ethics for how water is governed - permits to take water and the like. when making decisions about 'who' gets water and for 'what' -- how does the agency of water factor is and how does an ethic of life-serving-life guide priorities, and how does one honourably reciprocate the sacred gift of water?
So profound Tad. Thank you. This reminds me of my responsibility to my relationship with all beings and the choices I make in every moment to either honour their innate beauty or not.
Oh wow, stunning piece... I feel embarrassed to say that I hadn't considered the parts that make up the robots in this way... that was very powerful and has given me a lot of thought.
I have to be honest and say... that it's also brought other, older thoughts, to mind... in so far as... I have noticed this is how many of us as humans treat our food...
We eat burgers, steak, sausages and crispy bacon etc. as though it were 'thingified' and not at all related or even a part of or connected to the animal from where it came... we see it as a food name and not as the animal name... calling it a sausage or steak helps us to detach from what it actually is... a cow or a pig... we even call it rump or rib eye like we have become detached from those names too... these names might even bring a water of the mouth... yet when we reattach to the name 'ribeye' we can awaken and think to ourselves... FML... that's weird AF!!! We wouldnt look at another human (although we know there are some people out there who would!!!) and think Mmmmm you look like youd have a great RibEye!!
So... I guess the longwinder point I am making is... (and I'm not vegan or vegetarian)... we perhaps have learner to 'thingify' these areas of life so we can cope with our choices, our thoughts, our actions, and make (an abstract and personal, even justifiable) sense of our interactions....
But... where does it all end?
I know for me now... since studying herbal medicine and working with plants for medicine, I've learned to speak to and talk to my food, to acknowledge how it came to be in front of me....
We thank the water earth and air
And all the helping hands that bare
We thank the people loving good
Who grow and cook our daily food
And now at last we thank the sun
The light and life for everyone
Blessings on this meal
Happy eating and drinking
And peace on earth
This was a beautiful blessing I learned while on an apprenticeship in The Aaran Islands in Scotland. It's a beautiful way to reconnect and give thanks, and unThingify our interaction with food... I will say I dont always remember to remember and it's not always on my mind but I do try to be more present and it's an exercising of the reconnection and memory muscle
So... thank you for your deeply thought provoking writing
Oh Re reading these two again after a long time wondering about the iron gods. It’s such a good piece. I’ve been perturbed recently by the increasing use of AI art that folks don’t give credit for, especially by folks who hold sway in the mythopoetic world. I am thinking hard about how to approach AI and haven’t arrived anywhere but deep discomfort.
Tad, I read this yesterday and it has stayed in my foremind since; I am noticing the metal in my life and starting to fathom what it represents. Ooof. Still, thank you. I'd been going through something similar with plastic for years, as part of experimenting about accounting for the actual cost of things, which is part of a bigger experiment about reining in what my consumption costs others, including other-than-humans. Again, despite the pain, thank you. Love, Nicole
It was part one I read yesterday, then this today.
parts of this remind me of the Honourable Harvest - popularized by Robin Wall Kimmerer. i've been thinking about animism and ethics for how water is governed - permits to take water and the like. when making decisions about 'who' gets water and for 'what' -- how does the agency of water factor is and how does an ethic of life-serving-life guide priorities, and how does one honourably reciprocate the sacred gift of water?
beautiful question
So profound Tad. Thank you. This reminds me of my responsibility to my relationship with all beings and the choices I make in every moment to either honour their innate beauty or not.
Oh wow, stunning piece... I feel embarrassed to say that I hadn't considered the parts that make up the robots in this way... that was very powerful and has given me a lot of thought.
I have to be honest and say... that it's also brought other, older thoughts, to mind... in so far as... I have noticed this is how many of us as humans treat our food...
We eat burgers, steak, sausages and crispy bacon etc. as though it were 'thingified' and not at all related or even a part of or connected to the animal from where it came... we see it as a food name and not as the animal name... calling it a sausage or steak helps us to detach from what it actually is... a cow or a pig... we even call it rump or rib eye like we have become detached from those names too... these names might even bring a water of the mouth... yet when we reattach to the name 'ribeye' we can awaken and think to ourselves... FML... that's weird AF!!! We wouldnt look at another human (although we know there are some people out there who would!!!) and think Mmmmm you look like youd have a great RibEye!!
So... I guess the longwinder point I am making is... (and I'm not vegan or vegetarian)... we perhaps have learner to 'thingify' these areas of life so we can cope with our choices, our thoughts, our actions, and make (an abstract and personal, even justifiable) sense of our interactions....
But... where does it all end?
I know for me now... since studying herbal medicine and working with plants for medicine, I've learned to speak to and talk to my food, to acknowledge how it came to be in front of me....
We thank the water earth and air
And all the helping hands that bare
We thank the people loving good
Who grow and cook our daily food
And now at last we thank the sun
The light and life for everyone
Blessings on this meal
Happy eating and drinking
And peace on earth
This was a beautiful blessing I learned while on an apprenticeship in The Aaran Islands in Scotland. It's a beautiful way to reconnect and give thanks, and unThingify our interaction with food... I will say I dont always remember to remember and it's not always on my mind but I do try to be more present and it's an exercising of the reconnection and memory muscle
So... thank you for your deeply thought provoking writing
Oh Re reading these two again after a long time wondering about the iron gods. It’s such a good piece. I’ve been perturbed recently by the increasing use of AI art that folks don’t give credit for, especially by folks who hold sway in the mythopoetic world. I am thinking hard about how to approach AI and haven’t arrived anywhere but deep discomfort.