Curled Toward the Sea
Abstract
My Sip was largely an opportunity to explore the relationship between human beings and
our natural environment through the medium of poetry. It was, and is a personal gift to have the
opportunity to bring words to my feelings and thoughts regarding this relationship, but it was also
meant to be a way I could contribute to a larger discussion, and a way to explore and challenge
the way we conceptualize our relationship with the earth. I chose the Deep Ecology
movement/philosophy as a starting place for my explorations for a number of reasons. Deep
Ecology, as a way of thinking, feeling and acting in the world, challenges the anthropocentric
way of life, and encourages an ecocentric one instead. It is not about valuing a blade of grass over
a human life; it isn't even about arguing which has more value, or more right to be alive. It is
about learning to conceptualize our environment as not inseparable from ourselves, not in a
touchy-feely, happy hippie way, but as a recognition of the interconnectedness of all life. It is
about the respect that must be encouraged, fostered and remembered in order to honor our place
in this interconnectedness in such a way that we do not destroy the earth out of arrogance, greed,
fear, or ignorance. Deep Ecology, as opposed to 'Shallow' Ecology refers to the belief that Deep
Ecology is a tool to ask the deeper questions regarding the relationship between human and
nature. Part of this 'deeper' questioning process challenges our established segregation between
"human" and "nature". This process is about learning to see the earth as not just a collection of
very helpful and essential resources made for our survival, but as something that has intrinsic, or
inherent value. Keeping this in mind, it is not about "becoming the wind" or "being one with the
tree" to name a couple of phrases that people quickly write off as fluffy and naive. It isn't about
being a plant. It is about respecting the difference, remembering the connection, and honoring
this connection through conscientious action, thought and feeling in such a way that we do not
'conquer' or 'tame' nature, but live in humble process within it. As Gary Snyder, poet and Deep
Ecologist writes in Deep Ecology For the 21 st CentuD'. "it requires embracing the other as
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oneself and stepping across the line- not "becoming one" or mixing things up but holding the
sameness and difference delicately in mind".