It’s not just objects or people, nor is it a place. It’s that complex composition that is the locus mundi of a person’s world. It is a sort of ecology. You see it best in dislocation. People who are ill, in an ICU or other alienating environment, are displaced from the items, places, people, and environment that ground them. They can become unrooted. Life becomes an enigma, a mystery, because the people, places, and objects they use for navigation are gone.
A Personal Ecology
Some people are aware of this ecology that enfolds them. But for some, it’s taken for granted until it’s gone.
I was there some long years ago. You find out that the default state of the universe is like an unoccupied apartment – painted walls that are bare and barren of the sounds of casual habitation. There may be scuff marks on the floor where furniture once was, but the space calls out for real occupation, not the base state.
People who wander, by choice or need, very often have touchstones that they can use to create a small zone of safety. When I was a Pius Itinerant, it was my guitar, Charlie, my backpack, and the contents. I could move into a cheap rented room, set the guitar in a corner, put the books from the pack on a shelf, hang the clothes, and take off the engineer boots. Now, a sort of minimalistic home existed. I fought savagely to preserve the elements. Finding someone trying to steal Charlie one night, I was a few breaths from terminating the would-be thief. He was fortunate that the emergency room was so close by.
My experiences taught me to respect whatever grounds a person, whatever they use to create a verified picture of the universe around them. It might be their cat, dog, or prized possession.
Try to think about your personal ecology: the people, pets, objects, and space. It’s personal, and it makes the world less threatening. It’s not valued in dollars, and you can’t put a price on it.
Discover more from Louis N. Carreras, Woodcarver
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Very interesting read, enjoyed your thoughts… grounding for me is something I believe comes from being close to the earth, nature, my acres are my grounding place.
I agree, my garden and the woodland garden on my lot are part of my being grounded, too.
This really made me think back on the differing objects I’d formed attachments to over the years, and why. I love the way you write, Lou… hugs
Beautiful and true. For my dad it was the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam he carried from highschool until he gave it to me the last Christmas he was alive.
I thought of you when I was writing the post. It seems to me that you are one of the best-grounded people that I know.
Wow. Thank you. Maybe because I’m prone to falling 😉
!!!That’s not what I meant!!!
I know. I got what you meant and it made me feel really good. Thank you.