The class trip to the Susquehanna River opened my eyes to the history in our backyard. The idea of the petroglyphs excited and intrigued me pre-trip, but nothing compared to its unveiling with a touch of water. With each swipe of the delicately damp sponge, the rocks came to life. Native animals and their footprints, human depictions, and various symbols representing core aspects of the Native American culture, all came to life as we dampened the rock’s surface.
The story and meaning of these petroglyphs remind me of teachings in The Spell of the Sensuous. David Abrams comments on the abstraction of space and time and the effect written stories have on the importance of the land itself. Abrams writes, “as the technology of writing encounters and spreads through a previously oral culture, the felt power and personality of particular places begins to fade” (Abrams 239). While written stories promote transportation and sharing, Abrams begins to point out a serious drawback. Continuing his point, “certain stories might be provoked by specific social situations, their instructive value and moral efficacy [is] often dependent…[on] contact with the actual sites” (Abrams 240). The petroglyphs seen are highly specific to that site, and the Native Americans that created them. Hearing that certain stone carvings represent the locations of solstices is noteworthy. Physically uncovering the petroglyph, and looking in the direction where the solstices occur, uncovers a part of a previously never acknowledged culture. The intelligence required to determine the direction of summer and winter solstices results in serious appreciation for the Native American culture.
Re-living the trip as a whole, in looking back through the pictures taken on our trip, very few of them hide a hydroelectric dam. If I took a video along with pictures, sirens signaling the dam is releasing water would pollute the serenity of the river.
Today, sitting on my log, watching fallen sycamore leaves glide through White Clay Creek, listening to the playlist of various birds singing and hidden animals crunching leaves with each step, the image of the dam intrudes. This day, more than any in recent memory, the dam seems more relevant than the beauty of White Clay. The utility of the dam overrides the utility of the nature, according to those with the power to make such determinations. Acknowledging the elephant in the room in my mind, this Election has shown how wrong I have been in the aspects of human cognition.
When we talked about the mindset of Americans, we drew something like this on the board:
Up until November 8th going into 9th, I just thought “our ideas”, specifically on climate change, was the problem. Cooler heads would prevail, and the more facts and studies come out, people will acknowledge the absurdity with climate change doubters. When our country chose the elect they did, it showed me “our ideas” is not the problem. It is the barrier around it. The impenetrable wall between our minds and the outside world results in closed-mindedness that potentially has destructive side effects. In The Spell of the Sensuous, David Abrams often circles around the dichotomy between the internal and external. Abrams writes that if we acknowledge thoughts and feelings external to ourselves, “we begin to turn inside-out, loosening the psyche from its confinement within a strictly human sphere….intelligence is no longer ours alone but is a property of the earth” (Abrams 339). What Abrams speaks on, and what this class has taught me, is to make “nicks” in the wall. Once we, as a society, find the instrument to make this “nick”, and let ideas flow in and out of ourselves, I truly believe we can begin to fix the problems that ail us today.
As I am leaving my spot in White Clay, I notice stacks of rocks. There are about 7 or 8 such stacks and I immediately recognize them as vortexes. Whenever my family went on vacation to Sedona, these vortexes were prevalent on hiking trails. In nature, vortexes signal an area alive with energy. Energy is sucked from the surrounding area into the vortex-specific area. In various places in Sedona, spiritual vortexes exist. My family, each trip, visits one at Cathedral Rock. Although hard to explain in words, when at Cathedral Rock, your emotions amplify. The feelings of tranquility and appreciation of nature magnify to create an extraordinary experience. Hikers “create” their own energy vortex by stacking a series of rocks along the trail. I join those before me and take 8 rocks, stack them from largest to smallest, and signal a point of energy at the spot I frequent each week. Hopefully it affects others like it affects me.