Skelleg Michael

 
     I 'discovered' the rocky island Skellig Michael in Chet Raymo's heartrending book In the Falcon's Claw: A Novel of the Year 1000. The 'hero' of the story is an Irish monk, Aileran, who, after years of conflict within himself and after years of conflict between himself and the church, as well, over matters that pitted the supernatural against the natural, was accused of heresy. Aileran was, fictionally, possibly the first exponent for an Enlightenment in Europe; but, in the years 998, 999, and 1000, Europe and the then all-powerful Church of Rome had no intention at all of an "enlightenment." (An Earthquake or even a common bolt of lightening had to be occurrences created supernaturally by God and could not be attributed to Nature itself.) And so, Aileran found himself 'banished' to the monastery on Skellig Michael—7 miles off the stormy western coast of Ireland. And there, for three years, he endured the cold and the loneliness of his stone cell and sought God in the special way, the natural way, those in monasteries seek God.

The One and Only Problem in this World

     Walt Kelly's Pogo famously said, "We have met the enemy and he is us." This is, of course, true. But, in my opinion, the REAL enemy is, more precisely, "some of us." And the word for those "some of us"  are the ideologues. (I don't like the word "ideologue" but, since there isn't a single other word given in the thesaurus for ideologue, ideologue is the word we're stuck with.)  Who or what are ideologues? They are, the best I can explain, people who are intentionally blind, intentionally deaf and intentionally stupid. And, what makes them this way? The answer is: An etched in stone "group truth." They are completely caught up in this "group truth" (think religion) and they hold on to it like the dickens. They'll never budge. They are the Taliban in the environmental struggle facing the earth. In America, one of the MOST idiotic "name calling" words they throw at environmentalists is: "you're materialists." This is because they're, like the Taliban, caught up in supernaturalism. This, along with their own inherent GREATNESS (country, species and/or religion) and rote thinking, are what ideologues are all about.

My Paumanok

     This is where I'll start—at this small city pond, called Jizo, near our house in Oke- hazama, Japan. It was at Jizo Pond that, one day, I happened to meet the egret that was forever stuck there with a broken wing. And ... there, not at the pond but in the heart of that brave bird, is my starting point—my Paumanok. I will now, at last, join the all-but-impossible cause.

To thee old cause!
Thou peerless, passionate, good cause,
Thou stern, remorseless, sweet idea,
Deathless throughout the ages, races, lands. (Walt Whitman)

     I know that there are others out there who, like me, have dilly dallied too long. All I can say is, "I think it's time that more of us get really, really serious about the environment."