Through some amazing kismet, I recently stumbled on Consider Journal, the very new instagram of the very new Societe Magazine. A remarkable post accompanied a photograph by Cook + Jenshel of poet W.S. Merwin in his greenhouse on Maui, now part of The Merwin Conservancy.  It ranges from Merwin’s last book Garden Time to the “cyclical effect of nature and art” to the bigger question of how our expression might come to resonate in bigger ways. It is remarkably thoughtful and well-rendered:

Poet W.S Merwin wrote a book called Garden Time when he was navigating old age and losing his eyesight. During the difficult process Merwin would spend time in his garden channeling energy from the sounds and memories that reminded him of “the hope in the daylight.” The words he penned as he listened saw him become an even greater figure of environmental activism.

In his 89th year Merwin was still preserving native plants and palms on a private 19 acre site under the name Merwin Conservancy – one of the biggest private palm collections in the world.  A nice example of nature and art having a cyclical effect as he helped the palms keep their identity, and in return they helped him speak a message of hope to the collective one. “These tangible actions for the environment go hand-in-hand with his poetry, offering important insights for an era marked by environmental degradation, human disconnect with natural processes, and rapid climate change.”

#Consideration for this week: could your hobby project really be an avenue to pursue something way bigger? What is your message, and how do you go about speaking it? And what mediums, actions, and commitments could you engage in to let it speak through you more? 

Such perfect questions to sit with:

Could your hobby project really be an avenue to pursue something way bigger?

What is your message, and how do you go about speaking it?

And what mediums, actions, and commitments could you engage in to let it speak through you more?

Through that singular instagram, I also discovered the deeply moving Garden Time, for me, one of Merwin’s best books.