On Wednesday, we met for class on a local farm. Half the students worked on the farm, while the other half talked with me about the reading, and then the two groups switched. Is work a blessing or a curse? We were called to be keepers and tenders of the earth BEFORE the curse, so when is work a blessing? What makes for meaningful work?
Marcel (below) is playing Gloucester in King Lear who goes from pride to despair (which Berry identifies as the two false feelings) and finally ends up in hopeful healing (after surviving an attempted 'jump' from what he thinks is the top of the
cliffs of Dover). His son made him think he was committing suicide, but when the attempt failed, he awoke to a new apprec- iation of his life--neither proud nor in despair. How do we build hope in the face of either pride of human achievement or the despair of failed achievement? Wendell Berry and Shakespeare have some pretty good ideas about that. (hint--it involves others helping us realize how big life is and how small we are in comparison--and it results in us engaging in good, meaningful work).
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