Thursday, April 21, 2011

Happy Earth Day

For the next few days, this space will dedicate itself to Earth Day (April 22nd) in the form of the Earth Day Reading Project.




It's a  little idea cooked up by fellow garden blogger, The Sage Butterfly.

So I’ll use this space to share three books that have moved me to care more about Earth and the creatures and plants living here.

You may notice these books aren’t necessarily about Green Living.

They are also some of the best books I’ve ever read.

Here they are:


The Cosmic Serpent  by Jeremy Narby


 Anthropologist Jeremy Narby has written an account of Shamanic communication between plants and people that reads like the best mystery or thriller. It also humbled this reader with its perspective on the “intelligence” of non-human life forms, especially plants.





Siddhartha  by Herman Hesse


This account of how Siddhartha Gautama became the Buddha is inspiring throughout, but ends with an unforgettable description of the interconnectedness of all things. “This is a stone,” says Siddhartha at the end “and within a certain length of time it will perhaps be soil and from the soil it will become plant, animal, or man… [But] I do not respect and love it because it was one thing and will become something else, but because it has already long been everything and always is everything.” This book also comforts me when I fear that the world is falling apart. Siddhartha says to his friend, Govinda, “The world, Govinda, is not imperfect or slowly evolving along a long path to perfection. No, it is perfect at every moment; every sin already carries grace within it, all small children are potential old men, all sucklings have death within them, all dying people—eternal life…Therefore it seems to me that everything that exists is good—death as well as life, sin as well as holiness, wisdom as well as folly.”


Ishmael  by Daniel Quinn


 This book, published as a global wake-up call in 1992, is probably more relevant today than ever. It was the first book I’d ever read that detailed exactly how humans violate the natural laws of competition between species, and what has happened as a result.








Here are some other great blogs with green themes:

Partly Sunny Chance of Rain : a hilarious mother-of-two blogs about trying to hold it all together in a mad, mad world. Here’s her most recent post about living green.

South of Sunnybrook: A talented, creative mom blogging about living, gardening, and eating simply. Her posts include making seed starting pots from toilet paper cores  and making your own, extremely effective, multi-purpose cleaner

The Gardens at Melissa Majora: Kris, an Ohio gardener, turned her 1.25 acre property into a bee and pollinator sanctuary. You’ll find loads of lively posts as well as links for planning your own pollinator garden.

A Year in a Gippsland Garden:  An Australian garden blog with engaging writing and loads of links about attracting bees and butterflies and worm composting. Here’s her post about her (organic) battle against bugs on her tomatoes.

Jean's Garden: A sociologist and gardener with mean green skills. If gardening is what she’s second best at, then she must be a kick butt sociologist. Here’s her post on earth-friendly plant choices.

Visionary Gleam: Okay, I don’t actually know if Jim Lewis, garden blogger, is green or not. But I sort of don’t care.  His blog is an irresistible treat. He's funny, he’s a fantastic writer, and he’s gardening! What more could you ask for? Consider this link the toy that comes with the meal.

11 comments:

  1. Hello Bel and thanks for this Earth Day entry with a listing of some very thoughtful books. I look forward to reading all of them.

    I've been a big believer of the intelligence of non-human life forms for as long as I can remember. It's also good to know that most of the critters I run across in the gardens see me as intelligent too. Yay. Well, most days, anyway. I'm not always on top of my game. ;-D

    Happy Earth Day!

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  2. You have intrigued me with your choices Bel...my list is growing...here's to respecting all life on this earth Day!

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  3. Thanks for sharing this idea and your own book list. Your choices look really interesting. I love how the internet provides organic sources for reading material!

    Here is my own list: http://southofsunnybrook.blogspot.com/2011/04/sustainable-reading.html

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  4. Bel, I love your book choices! I haven't read any of these yet, but they're all getting added to my list. Thanks. -Jean

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  5. Kris: I think you will definitely appreciate the Jeremy Narby book. I would love to hear your thoughts on it someday. A mind-blowing book.

    Donna: Thanks for popping by, and happy reading!

    Becky: I loved your book choices as well. This is fun!

    Jean: I can't wait to see which books you chose!

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  6. Hi, Bel. I'm one of Jean's invitees so I stopped her to see your Earth Day Reading Project list. I forgot about Ishmael ... great choice. Thanks for adding books I hadn't seen elsewhere.

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  7. Thank you for reminding me of how much I enjoyed Siddhartha. I read it in college and was not able to put it down until I finished it. And then I believe its messages stayed with me for a very long time. Your other selections are just as relevant and inspiring. I have not read The Cosmic Serpent, but it sounds fascinating. Thank you for participating in The Earth Day Reading Project and Happy Earth Day!

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  8. I agree, Siddhartha is a fantastic book and meditation on the meaning of life. I love how Siddhartha gains wisdom by learning from the riverman simply to watch the river. That stuck in my mind, and now when I walk along the local creeks, I often find myself taking time to watch the water flow. I'm not sure what the creeks are telling me yet. But I'll keep trying!

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  9. Hello Bel and thanks for sharing your reading list. I have not read any of those, but will look out for them - Ishmael sounds particularly intriguing to me.
    Thanks also for the kind mention of my blog :)

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  10. Joene: You're Welcome!

    Sage Butterfly: Thanks for coming up with this neat idea.

    Sheila: Yes, flowing water has that mesmerizing quality of constantly changing while staying the same.

    Gippslandgardener: You're welcome!

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Thanks for reading!