Reflecting on moving in the opposite direction . . .

“Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius – and a lot of courage – to move in the opposite direction.”
- E.F. Schumacker

Why do old, eroding, structures appear romantic to me? I love the way the materials are blending into each other, the slow process of becoming one with the earth and the wonderful mix of chaos and order that appears to be playing out. Perhaps it is the ‘move in the opposite direction’ that I love so much. Maybe I am attracted to the gentle movement of letting down and letting in.
My son Teiji and I had an art show in Harris Saskatchewan this weekend. As we drove there, we saw these buildings scattered across the landscape. He wondered aloud if it was a law that every farm had to have one disintegrating shed, lean-to, or barn in the field next to the road. I couldn’t help feeling that the structures had entered a phase of peace making with the earth. It looked to me as if the structures, which once stood up straight on the land they occupied, were now bowing to the land.


You cannot be nonviolent if there is any part of yourself that you are in opposition to.
-Cheri Huber