This is something of a placeholder post, with four miscellaneous items on the general theme of looking back to the past and forward to the future, and then finishing with some questions for regular commenters and Substack subscribers at the end.
Thanks for the further comments (and for the subscription Sean!) I think I will leave comments turned on here, but I already often find myself short of time to respond to comments on my home website and need to avoid spreading myself too thinly, so please forgive me if I rarely respond to comments here. I'll be sure to read all the comments posted.
Thanks for those comments - appreciated. I'll most likely open my posts on Substack to comments and will be interested to read them, but to manage my time effectively I think I will have to prioritise responding to comments on my home website so my own comment contributions here will probably be quite sparing.
A number of times I've wanted to add a comment but gone to your blog and suddenly got too lazy to fill in my name, email and comment. I know, I know, I can have the browser save those details for next time but I'm pushing 50 and I should be given a break. (I'm through Substack but have been following your blog since your first book). So I'd love it if you opened comments here. But it would be a pity if your blog and all its comments disappeared. Some great discussions.
Thank you, Chris, for the ideas you share, and for the tentative signposts through the woods. Your ideas on colonialism strike me as creative, free of rancour, and surely worth pursuing.
Hi Chris, have just signed up. I have used your books to bridge some divides in the diet war communities I sometimes find myself mired in. Either your name, the book titles, or perhaps just the gift of a book, have gone a long way to reframe these often toxic debates. Perhaps not unlike running an organic farm, the willpower may eventually falter...make sure you pay yourself for the time commitment to continue writing. It lands.
Hi Chris, I only follow you here as I'm signed up to a number of substack writers and like how the site collates the people I want to follow in one place rather than going to various blogs. Regarding spiritual ecology - I'm really interested in where you go with this. Like you, I think it's an important factor in how we live on earth going forwards. People like Alistair McIntosh (Soil and Soul was a game changer for me) and Wendell Berry have encouraged me to reconsider the faith traditions I was brought up in and that perhaps, there are important ancient roots (and routes!) under the current capitalist veneer. I've even been going to church!! But I've found it REALLY difficult to find people in the Christian tradition locally, who are interested in land issues and have a better understanding of food issues than 'why don't poor people just eat lentils?' I'd love to be part of group prayerfully and practically exploring these issues. With one foot in land work and the other in healthcare, I think the connections between land use, food, spirituality and human health (both mental health and physical health) are too important (and obvious), not to grapple with. If you find anything, or have more ideas. I'd love to hear about them. St Ethelburga's sounds an interesting organisation!
I would love to comment on Substack, I’ve tried and failed on your blog. I’ve also tried to pay for a subscription on here and also failed (wrong email!). I would pay for your content as it’s always interesting but I like options to be left open, I like people who offer the same content to free and paying people. I will only pay for a few subscriptions because it gets crazy when you pay for so many. On another note, I also wrote an article for Mint Magazine in the same issue on fibre and food. Relocalising is the only viable option in my view. I heard recently that a deep truth is found when the opposite is also true. Relocalising is impossible but is the only viable option, just as living now is terrifying and destructive but also the most exciting and creative time to be alive.
I think it is very telling that you say you lacked the enthusiasm to read through all the parties' manifestos. I empathise with you in that. Perhaps (part of) the reason is that regardless of who we vote for, we will get more of the same - neo-liberal destruction, with our political 'leaders' pandering to those in economic power? Of course it could also be that our anti-democratic voting system deprives many people of any meaning in their vote, and thus the enthusiasm to do so.
I find your writing to be thoughtful and perceptive, laced with insight and humility. If you enjoy the idea of comments and interaction then perhaps do as you said and turn on the comments here. But please leave the email notifications on - as this is how I see that you have posted something new!
Thanks for the further comments (and for the subscription Sean!) I think I will leave comments turned on here, but I already often find myself short of time to respond to comments on my home website and need to avoid spreading myself too thinly, so please forgive me if I rarely respond to comments here. I'll be sure to read all the comments posted.
Thanks for those comments - appreciated. I'll most likely open my posts on Substack to comments and will be interested to read them, but to manage my time effectively I think I will have to prioritise responding to comments on my home website so my own comment contributions here will probably be quite sparing.
A number of times I've wanted to add a comment but gone to your blog and suddenly got too lazy to fill in my name, email and comment. I know, I know, I can have the browser save those details for next time but I'm pushing 50 and I should be given a break. (I'm through Substack but have been following your blog since your first book). So I'd love it if you opened comments here. But it would be a pity if your blog and all its comments disappeared. Some great discussions.
Thank you, Chris, for the ideas you share, and for the tentative signposts through the woods. Your ideas on colonialism strike me as creative, free of rancour, and surely worth pursuing.
Hi Chris, have just signed up. I have used your books to bridge some divides in the diet war communities I sometimes find myself mired in. Either your name, the book titles, or perhaps just the gift of a book, have gone a long way to reframe these often toxic debates. Perhaps not unlike running an organic farm, the willpower may eventually falter...make sure you pay yourself for the time commitment to continue writing. It lands.
Hi Chris, I only follow you here as I'm signed up to a number of substack writers and like how the site collates the people I want to follow in one place rather than going to various blogs. Regarding spiritual ecology - I'm really interested in where you go with this. Like you, I think it's an important factor in how we live on earth going forwards. People like Alistair McIntosh (Soil and Soul was a game changer for me) and Wendell Berry have encouraged me to reconsider the faith traditions I was brought up in and that perhaps, there are important ancient roots (and routes!) under the current capitalist veneer. I've even been going to church!! But I've found it REALLY difficult to find people in the Christian tradition locally, who are interested in land issues and have a better understanding of food issues than 'why don't poor people just eat lentils?' I'd love to be part of group prayerfully and practically exploring these issues. With one foot in land work and the other in healthcare, I think the connections between land use, food, spirituality and human health (both mental health and physical health) are too important (and obvious), not to grapple with. If you find anything, or have more ideas. I'd love to hear about them. St Ethelburga's sounds an interesting organisation!
I would love to comment on Substack, I’ve tried and failed on your blog. I’ve also tried to pay for a subscription on here and also failed (wrong email!). I would pay for your content as it’s always interesting but I like options to be left open, I like people who offer the same content to free and paying people. I will only pay for a few subscriptions because it gets crazy when you pay for so many. On another note, I also wrote an article for Mint Magazine in the same issue on fibre and food. Relocalising is the only viable option in my view. I heard recently that a deep truth is found when the opposite is also true. Relocalising is impossible but is the only viable option, just as living now is terrifying and destructive but also the most exciting and creative time to be alive.
I think it is very telling that you say you lacked the enthusiasm to read through all the parties' manifestos. I empathise with you in that. Perhaps (part of) the reason is that regardless of who we vote for, we will get more of the same - neo-liberal destruction, with our political 'leaders' pandering to those in economic power? Of course it could also be that our anti-democratic voting system deprives many people of any meaning in their vote, and thus the enthusiasm to do so.
I find your writing to be thoughtful and perceptive, laced with insight and humility. If you enjoy the idea of comments and interaction then perhaps do as you said and turn on the comments here. But please leave the email notifications on - as this is how I see that you have posted something new!