February 13, 2007
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the half-circle of life
What's the difference between a dirt floor and an "earthen" floor? Oh, and make sure you inflect your voice just right when saying "earthen". If you can't see the scintillating beauty of the emperor's new clothes, you're just an unsophisticated country-dweller who can't recognize chic when he sees it. (How to enlighten yourself? Read the New York Times every day.)
Favorite quote:
Some aficionados see a spiritual aspect to earthen floors, too. Mr. Rowell said his floor would help create a “sacred space.” Mr. Meyer agreed. “I think people are craving the earth,” he said. “They want to be more primal. How much more primal can you get than dirt?”The immense crystalline irony of "western civilisation" in its most brilliant peaks groping for truth and reality and meaning, having abandoned the source of true life, God the Creator, and subsequently ending up blindly groveling on the floor, eating dirt and ashes. But it still considers itself beautiful, oh yes. Unending, our glorious evolution. Sublime, our brave new world.
The indigenous americans and for that matter still the poorest of the poor of all the earth have dirt floors. The time once was when (western, judeo-christian) civilization elevated itself (in a self-aware way) above the dirt. Now having lost its heritage and being forced to seek more and more stimulation in an desperate quest for meaning, it runs back to the animistic and architectural poverty of the primitive civilizations, like a wolf licking a frozen blood-covered knife, frantic with mixed pain and desire, bleeding to death but unable to pull away.
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Comments (6)
I.e., it's not the NYT or the dirt floor or the whole foods or the environmentalism I'm mocking per se, but the whole postmodern cultural thrust... not only the "back-to-nature"ishness of it all, but the blindness, the lack of perspective, the "look at this awesome new flooring material we've constructed! it's called dirt!", the "look at this awesome new religion we've constructed! it's called animism-slash-paganism-slash-ecumenical-gnosticism-from-the-second-century-AD!", the "look at this awesome new material we've woven for the emperor's new clothes!"
The particular elements themselves have much utility in them... in fact Sarah Susanka's architecture is some of my favorite stuff, and Whole Foods-y stores are my favorite to shop in, etc. Within the framework of knowing and loving The Almighty God, all these elements are great. "To the pure, all things are pure." But in themselves, as in the de facto religion of the secularist paganist syncretistic postmoderns, they are worthless and worse than worthless - jumping out of an airplane with a parachute made of beautiful pastel tissue paper.
You might want to read this post from last year, on the poem entitled "Wage Peace With Your Breath" by Judyth Hill.
I like animism, paganism, wicca, and other such religions just fine, actually. Truthfully, I don't see the need to "elevate myself above the dirt." We need the dirt. It does good things for us. Abusing it and then attempting to separate ourselves from it is kind of worthless. Pretending to be better than the rest of the planet strikes me as arrogance.
As for the poem? Your sitting and having a cup of tea won't fix much. But if you chill out, and if everyone chills out, then we're taking a big step towards it. I can't find the exact quote right now, but it runs something like "Man will begin to solve his problems when he learns to stop taking himself so seriously." That, in my opinion, is a good place to start.
I might do some musings on this.
~Sol
wow. yes, indeed..."still the poorest of the poor of all the earth have dirt floors." For all that, so did Adam. I think you you gave a good analysis and analogy... "jumping out of an airplane with a parachute made of beautiful pastel tissue paper." Romans 1, etc.
For LordCanti, I don't think Tim was "abusing the dirt." As he mentioned, it definitely has its wonderful place in Creation; but it should be no substitute (even in a minor way) for the truly deserving Recipient of our worship. Of course, that's assuming a whole different perspective/worldview from yours. So, I wouldn't really expect you to agree at this point.
No, no, I wasn't claiming so much that he was abusing the dirt. I was more referencing farming and such. It's better to take a reverent view towards the things that afford us life, such as dirt - from my perspective because they exist and help us. If I were trying to get you to agree (I guess I probably am), then I would say that these things are provided to us by God, so we should take care of them and make sure they last. Now. The imminent question is "what does this have to do with dirt floors?" to which the answer is probably "relatively little." The people getting these floors are probably doing so because it's weird and can be used to start conversations. The rich can waste their money on whatever they want, I suppose. My view is just that we shouldn't try to elevate ourselves out of that which sustains us. It alienates us from things that can teach us.
I probably should have said earlier that the dirt floors sounds kinda silly to me. I don't think they're silly because people want to "return to the earth" - that doesn't bug me - I think it's silly because people will use it to say things like0 "Ahh. I've got a dirt floor. It's all shiny. Come see my dirt floor. My dirt floor makes me wonderful." THIS bothers me. But then it would bother me with any other material too.
~Sol
Hey Sol,
Interesting thoughts.... as Xapio said, our worldviews are definitely becoming apparent here...
You wrote: The imminent question is "what does this have to do with dirt floors?" to which the answer is probably "relatively little." The people getting these floors are probably doing so because it's weird and can be used to start conversations.
I agree.
You wrote: I don't think they're silly because people want to "return to the earth"...
That's exactly what I was getting at... the hilarious irony of the "most advanced tip of the most advanced civilization on earth" eagerly seeking after "the primal", simply because it is primal, because of the desperate need for something new, avant garde, chic, and stimulating.
You wrote: I would say that these things are provided to us by God, so we should take care of them and make sure they last.
That's a great perspective! But I thought you didn't believe in God?
Along the same lines, it's like a father giving his child a beautiful new bicycle for his birthday. But instead of saying "thank you" to his dad, the child runs away from the father without even a word, clasping the new bicycle. He drags the bicycle up the stairs to his bedroom. Then he starts talking to the bicycle, petting it, gazing at it with love and adoration. The child proceeds to put the bicycle in a place of honor in his bedroom and kneel down before it every day in worship.
?!??!?!?!!!?
Our love and worship, as you suggest, should be to the Giver rather than to the gift.
No, I don't believe in God. That was the best way I could think to put my emotions into what I thought (correctly, evidently) might be your perspective.
I guess also that our views have to differ a bit here BECAUSE I don't believe in God. I don't think the kid should have the bicycle in his room because that's not the place for bicycles. But first, I think that the bicycle should be appreciated for what it is, and second, if he DOES want to put it in his room, if it makes him happy to put it in his room, then I don't see why he shouldn't have it in his room. If it's preventing someone else from surviving, or if he starts making fun of me or threatening me because I don't keep MY bicycle in my room, then we've got a problem or two.
~Sol
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