Before
we met for class on May 13th my expectation was to learn about the
environment, nature and how to live in a way that is less harmful to them. It was
interesting to learn that was actually not the main focus of the course. The
course is designed for a group of people, with many different interests, to
come together to have informal discussions about the world, their environment
and their sense of place. The learning and outcomes of the class connect to my
self and my sense of place by making me realize that everyone has their own
sense of place and everyone is different. For example, my sense of place might
be somewhere outside and quiet where as some one else’s could be somewhere
inside and loud.
My
sense of place is a small place outside where people go to see the planes take
off and land at Ronald Reagan International Airport in Washington DC. When I
was younger my family and I would walk there for picnics with friends, or just
to go hang out if it was a beautiful day out. It’s one of my favorite places
because it’s the one place where everyone would be excited to go to. I remember
being so young and innocent and being amazed by every single plane that flew
over my head. When the planes flew over you would feel a huge breeze and
sometimes even a slight vibration beneath you. The place was placed right
beside the Potomac River with a view of the National Monument. Recently they
made this place a cell phone lot and a lot of the character is gone. However,
whenever I fly home to see my family my dad always reminds me that he was
sitting in the lot watching my plane fly in.
My
sense of place now is in my car. I love being in my car because it’s like being
in my own bubble. I can turn the music up as much as I want, not have to listen
to anyone talk and just be alone with my thoughts. Sometimes when I’m stressed
or annoyed I will get in my car and just go somewhere to escape reality. It
works for me every time and makes me more relaxed. I have an hour-long commute
to work and I take that time every day to be alone and to relax.
source:https://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view;_ylt
The
reading about nature-deficit disorder and the restorative environment by
Richard Louv and the coming of Biophilia Revolution connects with my sense of
place in a lot of ways. Especially my first sense of place, watching the planes
comes in, because they replaced the beautiful and relaxing place with a cell
phone lot to adjust to the technology needs that people have. It is the concept
that you have to love it or you’re going to lose it. I guess these don’t
connect to my second and most current sense of place, my car, because cars are
very harmful to the environment. Therefore it makes me feel like I love to lose
it. We’re alienating ourselves from nature, which is going to be harmful for
our kids and our future grandchildren.
Our children follow us by example. If we’re constantly using technology
and not going out and protecting or enjoying the environment and nature then
our children will respond by doing the exact same thing.
David
Orr said, “It makes far better sense to reshape ourselves to fit a
finite planet than to attempt to reshape the planet to fit our infinite wants.”
Orr is completely accurate in this quote. Humans have destroyed the earth for
years and subsequently we have species, plants, and ‘animals’ that have never
been here before. We’ve destroyed the earth by making less and less natural
things go on. One thing that David Orr said that I completely relate to is:
“When we heal the earth we heal ourselves”. This couldn’t be more accurate, we
have destroyed the earth, which makes us ‘bad’ people in a way. It’s time for
us to heal the earth so that we can be a better human race as a whole.
Airport and Potomac River. Source: https://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view;
No comments:
Post a Comment