While seated in the snow, I was and continually am excited about this class. I find the mix of the class to be a fun one who will bring in different perspectives on ideas. We have a religious studies major, art majors, English majors, film minors, women gender and sexuality minor. Some of us draw, others photographs, others sculpt, others none at all. I am very interested in see where our class goes with our different interests.
When the name Annie Dillard was said, my ears perked up because I love her writings. I read a bunch of her essays in high school and fell in love with her topics and writings. I have read "Seeing" before. I love the story that she starts off with. I can picture a little girl marking the sidewalk to where the penny is.
I have to agree that we are in a "now-you-see-it, now-you-don't." Its an unfortunate that people look at the world, but see only a smart piece of it through "the keyhole." Its important that we as people, expand what we see. We must be open to new ideas and new adventures. Try to make the best out of our lives. We should keep our eyes open to the world around us. There is so much beauty in the world, so we have to just expose ourselves to it and be ready to experience it.
The reading of the two Mary Oliver poems made for an interesting part of class. By reading "Cold Poem" first, it enhanced the coldness I felt from sitting in the snow. My hands needed to be covered up because they got chilly. But the more we read it, the warmer I got. The poem fits with what Dillard was talking about. They both are trying telling us that we should look at things more than one way. We should adjust the lenses to reevaluate the world around us. Oliver mentions that cold isn't just a feeling but possibly it "is the time we measure the love we have always had, secretly for our own bones, the hard knife-edged love for the warm river of the I, beyond all else." This is important for us as humans to better understand the world we are a part of. Oliver also talks about making sure that we value our lives and the best of it with the ending of her poem, "The Summer Day." It is the question, we all must ask ourselves, so our lives are fulfilled.
I am excited for reading David Abram's book as well as Yvon Chouinard's. They are both fascinating people who bring interesting ideas to the classroom. Chouinard is a fascinating guy. I learned a good bit about him in a recent documentary called "180° South". So I am interested in reading his book. A lot of the readings on the syllabus fascinate me. So I really can't wait to read for this class and see what insight the people in the class bring to offer every week.
