Two Wellsprings, Again

THURS., NOV. 3, 1988, 6:24 AM
FARM, STUDY

You are more than halfway through the reading for your sabbatical project, and you wonder whether what remains will offer new ideas or only reiterations of what you already have. The note-taking process will be tedious and time consuming, but the final paper should be excellent. You are not ready to write now, but when that time comes it should flow easily. And you know I shall be there to help, o son.

It now is more clear that these two Wellsprings have legitimate separate identities but also a nice area of overlap. Ecological balance represents the dynamic relationship of the human with other forms of life and with the physical aspects of earth life. It also applies to internal balances when substances other than food are taken into the body. Thus this balancing is something the individual does, both consciously and unconsciously AND it is something to which she must be continually reacting.

One aspect of this is the coming season of cold weather. There is nothing you can do to hasten or delay this approaching season. You can anticipate and have warmer clothing available, heaters functioning, and plenty of wood ready for burning. But despite all your experience your stove did not work properly this morning, and the balance of waste in the air would have been harmful if you hadn’t acted quickly. Last evening you were dressed properly for the outside temperature, but had to shed your coat in the warmth of the large classroom. And such balancing will continue as the season comes on fully.

Human/spiritual interaction is such an important part of human health. Like unto the other Wellspring, the interactions are dynamic and continuous. You have had some fine interactions this week, with your spirit involved. Some have been here, on your familiar home place. Some involved eating together, an often nice combination. One was outside, on a beautiful day, and this enhanced the interaction of your two spirits.

And hence the two have this important overlap. You can say, in a lecture in a large hall, that your son, Peter, is buried on your Farm, but this is not nearly as spiritually educational as when you lead a small class, meeting out here, to the actual gravesite, with the cross and the blanket of pine needles. In your own class next term you shall have learners observe some scene of ecological balance and then describe it with as much spirit as possible. You might encourage some to do this in pairs, observing the same scene, writing up the experience independently and then sharing the different versions. Sharing active human experiences is one of the great experiences of earth life.

So one obvious overlap is when one feels spirit in a place or regarding some thing, and this makes possible a higher quality of interactions with people. You appreciate the beauty of these autumn leaves outside… so you describe them to your parents and actually include some in the letter’s envelope. This encourages them to share a bit more of your life, as you shared theirs recently.

You appreciated the beauty of the natural compost formed where your animals feed in winter. You should spread this in your garden area for its value in enriching the soil. Then to share this resource with others is another spiritual experience.