Hey Abbey. Salut these tables among the ruins! I just saw your note on one of my posts asking about this Illich quote-ish:
“The limit of political possibility today is the number of people who can sit around a table and share a meal together.”
Dougald Hine loosely attributes this to Illich. It rings well and often in my ears. Not knowing Illich enough, I asked where the quote came from. “I'm actually not sure I've ever written it down publicly,” he told me, “ and to my knowledge there's no written record of the quote, but I heard it from one of Illich's friends in 2007 and when I ran it by Sajay Samuel a few years later, he said, That certainly sounds like the kind of thing Ivan used to say."
It would please me even more if Illich had not actually said it, but it had grown up from what he left unsaid, begged from the peripheries. Illich Midrash if you will.
The good thing about the gift of Midrash is its all knowing and all seeing. It was there, everywhere, and can always find the bits of inside information it needs to say it true, maybe even truer than it was never said before. Best of all, the litero-certain can't access it because, still alive and loose in the world, it hasn't laid down on the exam table for the instruments.
I also wondered with Dougald what might be the confederation of tables adrift in this sea of worlds-not-yet-imagined. Flotilla it is, I think. And the communiques of flotillas I now suggest would be short-wave radio bits and messages in bottles. Messages, like Celan says, might just wash up on heart-land. Those hearts that precede the maps. Sounds familiar....
What a good word and also a grace it's "still alive and loose in the world, it hasn't laid down on the exam table for the instruments" -- ahhh! thankfully. I will try not to pin it to a card like a beetle.
Sending out my little signal from my table-raft and glad to hear there maybe be a flotilla.
I agree that endings “are especially difficult when our work has become intertwined with larger ideas about Making a Difference in the world.” I recently retired from cello teaching. This is something I thought I would never do since I have always felt called to be a good teacher (I suffered many mediocre teachers so have spent a lifetime trying to be a good teacher) for young people who want to learn the cello. But I no longer have the energy and finally made the decision to retire. I have sorted my cello teaching books and made a pile that I am ready to give away. Those that I have left on the shelves, I do not want to part with even though it is unlikely I will need them. Salvaging books that I am unlikely to use seems wasteful. But I will keep my educational website learningthecello.com going since that has been and can continue to be helpful to anybody with Internet access. I mourn the loss of connecting with families who provided the structure for their child to practice daily and who encouraged a love of music. But there were families who wanted their child to learn only in order to rack up achievements for boosting status. I think what I have gained most is that cultivating a relationship of mutual trust, a willingness to sacrifice, and a respect for the dignity of each person is what allows for a good education and a thriving community. Thank you for posing the question and giving the space for a response.
Dear Suzanne. Thank you so much for telling your story. I can only imagine how many people you taught about beauty in those years (and will continue to do so my other means).
I have a personal interest in your continuing your website, because I am an adult student of that very instrument and love it dearly. I don't have time for lessons, and your website looks so wonderful.
Thank you for this. One thought about 'save' and 'salvere' is Eileen Crist's suggests we ‘… we turn to cherish Earth not “save it”' Maybe less heroic? Although 'salvage' has a different feel to it. Crist in 'Cohabiting Earth: Seeking a Bright Future for All Life'
This one is my favorite as of yet! (Though I have loved so many of them:-) I will be reflecting on creating “I and Thou” moments rather than “I and it” moments in my own home and life for the days to come.
Kate! How lovely to see you here (so to speak!). I know, that central question of I-Thou va I-It has really given me language for something I’ve felt instinctively for some time. Blessings!
Hey Abbey. Salut these tables among the ruins! I just saw your note on one of my posts asking about this Illich quote-ish:
“The limit of political possibility today is the number of people who can sit around a table and share a meal together.”
Dougald Hine loosely attributes this to Illich. It rings well and often in my ears. Not knowing Illich enough, I asked where the quote came from. “I'm actually not sure I've ever written it down publicly,” he told me, “ and to my knowledge there's no written record of the quote, but I heard it from one of Illich's friends in 2007 and when I ran it by Sajay Samuel a few years later, he said, That certainly sounds like the kind of thing Ivan used to say."
It would please me even more if Illich had not actually said it, but it had grown up from what he left unsaid, begged from the peripheries. Illich Midrash if you will.
The good thing about the gift of Midrash is its all knowing and all seeing. It was there, everywhere, and can always find the bits of inside information it needs to say it true, maybe even truer than it was never said before. Best of all, the litero-certain can't access it because, still alive and loose in the world, it hasn't laid down on the exam table for the instruments.
I also wondered with Dougald what might be the confederation of tables adrift in this sea of worlds-not-yet-imagined. Flotilla it is, I think. And the communiques of flotillas I now suggest would be short-wave radio bits and messages in bottles. Messages, like Celan says, might just wash up on heart-land. Those hearts that precede the maps. Sounds familiar....
What a good word and also a grace it's "still alive and loose in the world, it hasn't laid down on the exam table for the instruments" -- ahhh! thankfully. I will try not to pin it to a card like a beetle.
Sending out my little signal from my table-raft and glad to hear there maybe be a flotilla.
This is stunning, Abbey—how lovely to find you on here!
Well hello! And likewise! I can't wait to delve into your writings, too!
I agree that endings “are especially difficult when our work has become intertwined with larger ideas about Making a Difference in the world.” I recently retired from cello teaching. This is something I thought I would never do since I have always felt called to be a good teacher (I suffered many mediocre teachers so have spent a lifetime trying to be a good teacher) for young people who want to learn the cello. But I no longer have the energy and finally made the decision to retire. I have sorted my cello teaching books and made a pile that I am ready to give away. Those that I have left on the shelves, I do not want to part with even though it is unlikely I will need them. Salvaging books that I am unlikely to use seems wasteful. But I will keep my educational website learningthecello.com going since that has been and can continue to be helpful to anybody with Internet access. I mourn the loss of connecting with families who provided the structure for their child to practice daily and who encouraged a love of music. But there were families who wanted their child to learn only in order to rack up achievements for boosting status. I think what I have gained most is that cultivating a relationship of mutual trust, a willingness to sacrifice, and a respect for the dignity of each person is what allows for a good education and a thriving community. Thank you for posing the question and giving the space for a response.
Dear Suzanne. Thank you so much for telling your story. I can only imagine how many people you taught about beauty in those years (and will continue to do so my other means).
I have a personal interest in your continuing your website, because I am an adult student of that very instrument and love it dearly. I don't have time for lessons, and your website looks so wonderful.
Thank you for sharing!
Oh wow! What a coincidence that you are learning the cello! Thank you for your encouragement and best wishes to you. ❤️🎻🎶🎵
Thank you for this. One thought about 'save' and 'salvere' is Eileen Crist's suggests we ‘… we turn to cherish Earth not “save it”' Maybe less heroic? Although 'salvage' has a different feel to it. Crist in 'Cohabiting Earth: Seeking a Bright Future for All Life'
This one is my favorite as of yet! (Though I have loved so many of them:-) I will be reflecting on creating “I and Thou” moments rather than “I and it” moments in my own home and life for the days to come.
Kate! How lovely to see you here (so to speak!). I know, that central question of I-Thou va I-It has really given me language for something I’ve felt instinctively for some time. Blessings!