Jana Remy
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Jana Remy

  • Writing
    • Disability
    • Making History
    • Digital Humanities
      • dayofDH
    • Canoeing
    • Creative Nonfiction & Essays
    • Feminism
    • Bibliographies
      • Pacific Worlds Bibliography
    • Social Media
      • Mentions/Links
  • Scholarship
    • Awards/Fellowships
    • Conferences & Invited Talks
    • Collaboration
    • Workshops
    • Conference Planning
    • Technical Skills
  • Teaching
    • Blogposts About Teaching
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March 6, 2009

but own it not…
deep thoughtssimplicity

but own it not…


bright garden, originally uploaded by pilgrimgirl.

I was reading a bit of Thoreau this morning (for a research proposal that I’m drafting) and came across this passage…

We have complicated our lives by seeking so much more than is needed: “From the cave we advanced to roofs of palm leaves, of bark and bough, of linen woven and stretched, of grass and straw, of boards and shingles, of stones and tiles. At last, we do not know what it is to live in the open air, and our lives are domestic in more senses than we think…We no longer camp as if for a night, but have settled down on earth and forgotten heaven.”
The design of our “shelter” has become superfluously complex and so expensive that it bankrupts our very existence: “the cost of a thing is the amount of what I call life which is required to be exchanged for it.” To Thoreau’s way of thinking, how much better it is not to own a house–only to be enslaved to its care and upkeep–but to feel “at home everywhere” and anywhere! “Rise free from care before the dawn and seek adventures. Let the noon find thee by other lakes, and the night overtake thee everywhere at home. . . .Enjoy the land, but own it not.”

March 6, 2009
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About Me

About Me

Hi there friend, and welcome to my blog. I started writing on the internet two decades ago. Since then I've started and finished a PhD program, left the Mormon church and became a Quaker, got divorced, remarried, found full-time work in academia, took up rock climbing and outrigger canoeing, and traveled across the globe (China! Belgium! Italy! Chicago! Montana! Portland! Gettysburg! and oh-so-many points in-between). This blog is eclectic and random--it has poetry and cooking and books. And cats. And flowers. And the ocean (my ocean). But in that sense it's a good reflection of me and my wide-ranging, far-reaching, magpie curiosity.

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