Page 206 - Dark Matter:Women Witnessing Issue #3 - December 2015

stop the spreading of human waste sludge on fields, and individuals using nature’s favorite form—the

spiral—to transform everything from electronics to transportation.

Ausubel has dreamed for us a future in which individuals are empowered, nature has legal rights, and

connection—with the earth and with each other—takes precedence over the bottom line. To write it out
this way seems wildly optimistic if not delusional, but Ausubel is not at all naïve nor is he a purveyor of

magical thinking. His writing is at times funny, often profound, and always informed by his deep

knowledge and understanding of history, science, and politics.

By returning to our childness – our state of wonder and unity with our natural surroundings – we can
better see the wisdom that is all around us. Our task is large, but the solutions have already been

developed by nature. We only have to quiet our insistent human voices and listen.

*****

Courtney Cable holds an MA in Intermedia Art and is trying to carve out a
gentle, creative, and sustainable life on the flat plains of Iowa. Her writing has

been published in saltfront, Kindred, Natural Child Magazine, Bamboo Family
Magazine, and she has been a frequent contributor to Rhythm of the Home.
She writes about parenthood, creativity, food, and nature at

alifesustained.blogspot.com.