Know Your Place

Posted on July 5, 2007 by Dave Pollard
pool 1
The other evening, after doing some yard work, and finding myself alone, I sat cross-legged on the bench at the end of our deck (picture below) and looked back at the house (picture above) and just thought. 
pool 2
This is my place, I thought. Not in the sense that I own it. Not in the sense that it represents my station in life. But in the sense that I belong to it. I am a part of it. This mostly-wild area, with the kettle pond that goes green with algae in the summer, to the delight of the beavers and ducks and spring peeper frogs and herons. With the place I mow, where I run three times a week, winter and summer, that the geese, and the raccoons, and the red foxes, and wild turkeys, and rabbits, and my little friend puc puc, all love. With the gardens and walkways my wife tends with loving care, and the plants that grow wild. With the myriad of tiny wild creatures. The family members and great neighbours who drop by. The astonishing change of seasons. The stunning sunrises and sunsets. And the birds at the feeder, of course. I am a part of all this, my place, the place I belong.

And as I sat there listening to the frogs and watching a bat skimming the surface of the pool looking for insects, and breathing slowly and deeply, I realized that the reason the birds and animals have become so tame around me is not a Gaia connection but the fact that my smell is now a part of this place, from running around sweating, from lying in the grass, from constantly repairing the bird feeders after squirrel and raccoon deconstruction. The wild creatures recognize me as belonging to this place, which is their place, too.

While I always used to want to travel, now I’m more than content to spend my leisure time, my time for discovery and contemplation, in my place. As I become more attentive, I’ve learned that this place still has a million mysteries to show me. The work I do in this place is never a chore — mowing the lawn, power-washing the decks, vacuuming the pool, and my 5k runs, are all forms of meditation, relaxation, connection. And despite all the time I spend out in my place, I am always discovering new and astonishing creatures, noticing things I’d never noticed before.

I imagine this place as it was before humans arrived. It is moraine land, and what grew here 40,000 years ago before the last ice age, and 20,000 years ago when the ice retreated again, and even 5,000 and 2,000 years ago, and what grows here now are very different. But somehow it is still the same place. The trees and plants and creatures, including me, that now belong to this place were meant to be here, we chose this place, together, as our home.

When I speak to people who have lived their entire lives in the city, they can’t understand this, though I get indulgent smiles from them. And I know people who live in this paradise who still see it as just a lot of work, as something to improve, to keep ‘up’.

Wilderland. Wonderland. I wish everyone could find it, feel it. Know their place.Belong to it, and through it, belong to all-life-on-Earth.

If everyone knew, maybe it wouldn’t be too late.
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8 Responses to Know Your Place

  1. Ed Diril says:
    July 6, 2007 at 08:55

    “Circle of life” was playing in my head as I read this piece. Nice place, by the way! :)

  2. Gayle says:
    July 6, 2007 at 09:28

    Yes, it is a beautiful place.Where I live used to be a place like yours and I am crying as I write. Our community has been locked in a battle with developers for several years now and seeing our fertile soil covered over with asphalt and the wild river nearby covered with levees is a heartache. I never see any animals any more.I have so much of myself invested here and now the smog and traffic are unbearable. Not to mention the threats and assault on my character because I’m not “pro-growth”.I hope the developers never find you my friend.

  3. Barbara W. Klaser says:
    July 6, 2007 at 20:32

    What a beautiful post, Dave. I used to worry that my dream of staying home more would end in me not having enough going on in my life. But I’ve found that my home is full of activity. Yeah, I wish I could travel, but thousands of things happen in my little yard and nearby surroundings each week. It’s a constant learning adventure. I love it. I wish more people would stop and look around them, listen, and tune in to how nature creates a great play, performing a moving and profound act each minute. I think we put roots down in a place, if we let ourselves, the way a tree does. Ours just aren’t visible.

  4. Viv McWaters says:
    July 7, 2007 at 00:02

    Greetings from the other side of the world where, if you changed a few of the animals and birds and plants to say kangaroos, and rosellas, and echidnas, and yes, frogs, and the smell of the ocean and the smell of the eucalypts – then you could be describing MY PLACE. Of course it is different – yet so much of what you have written resonates. I love being here. I love coming home. I travel a lot and am fortunate to work with ecologists and environmentalists and community development in what many pereceive as very exotic locations, yet given the choice this is where I want to be. This connection with place is SO important to the future of our planet. With it we can make sense of the ecological and social challenges we face; without it, well, I don’t know what that’s like. For the 20 or so years that I lived in a large city I still felt that connection to place – maybe it was the cycling to work every day being acutely aware of the weather, the temperature, the wind strength and direction; maybe it was simply searching out thgose wild places that still do exist, even in cities. I feel extremely privileged to now liveon a few acres of bush with a resident mob of kangaroos (how Aussie is that!) and knowing that when I look south over the ocean there is nothing between me and Antarctica. Thanks for reminding me that the world is worth saving and the best place to start is exactly where you are now.

  5. Dick says:
    July 7, 2007 at 04:20

    My granny had a sampler hanging above the larder in the kitchen. ‘East, West, home’s best’, it proclaimed. There comes a time in life when that makes a lot of sense.

  6. janet says:
    July 7, 2007 at 07:46

    Nice post. I have found my “place” and I love it. It’s not fancy but the views and wildlife are never boring. I am more in touch with the universe than ever before. I can see the stars and the moon unobstructed unless by cloud cover. I have time to enjoy the simple things in life and I’m so ever thankful. Thanks for sharing your place.

  7. gbreez says:
    July 7, 2007 at 17:37

    Hi Dave. I know exactly what you mean…me,too, in my Maine woods.BTW, I am back after a very long absence from blogging having lost my computer, site, and all my files. New site is at http://gbreez dot blogspot dot com. Hope this msg gets through as the last one did not.It is wonderful to be able to visit you again; always refreshing.Big Hugs, GentleBreeze

  8. Pearl says:
    July 11, 2007 at 07:10

    Lovely reflections. Having a routine and place that is a home base with animals that are used to you. Wonderful oasis.

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