Earth, Sky, and Goldilocks

The artist Georgia O’Keefe fell in love with New Mexico at first sight. She loved the expanse of the landscape – great mountains, open prairie, wide desert, big sky – and the purity of the light. I have fallen in love with New Mexico too. The light does indeed seem pure and clear. You can clearly see why medieval scholars felt that light represented the pure grace of God.

What fascinates me about New Mexico is that despite the wide landscape, big sky, and majestic mountains nothing overwhelms. The land, whether prairie or desert, stretches for miles, yet is broken up in all directions by the mountains which are always in the backdrop. This allows for a big sky, but not a dominant sky. Thus in New Mexico earth, sky, and light are each in balance. One is both grounded and freed. I feel alive and refreshed whilst there. Mother earth and father sky are in balance.

I have been on the Great Plains. They are nearly featureless and dominated by an uninterrupted dome of big sky. The wind, coming of the sky, never stops. Here father sky easily dominates passive, inert mother earth. There is no escaping the gaze of the sun. I feel small and dominated. It is out of balance. I’ve always wondered if the most strongly patriarchal societies emerged from the steppe.

I live in Appalachia. Here the mountains are not huge, but there is nothing but the mountains and the hollows in between. Standing in a small hollow I barely see the sky or sun. I am enfolded in almost permanent shade, and embraced inside a small bowl with the mountains (dark, wooded mountains) right on top of me. Here mother earth dominates and father sky is nearly invisible. I feel trapped and claustrophobic. There is a claustrophobic insularity in the clans and society here too. It is protective, but stifling.

The fourth element water only plays a bit part in these landscapes. I must travel to the coast, or the great lakes, to add that to the balance. There are parts of coastal California in which I can observe the ever flowing, ever changing ocean while a sea breeze playfully blows. The sun is clear overhead, but not burning. Turn around 180 degrees and I could walk into the foothills, where Live Oaks are scattered amidst golden grasses. All four elements are balanced. When there, I feel balanced and whole.

Cities have their own feel. I don’t think of them as outside nature. They are their own unique ecosystems. Some, such as New York or London, are as awesome and overwhelming as mountainous landscapes. Others, declining or small towns, may feel out of balance with too little energy. Yet if I walk around the streets of a thriving, active city, I just absorb the energy. I recharge. Not only is there a landscape of buildings, the sky, trees, sometimes a river, but there are active people. If I am in the right-sized city with a diverse mix of creative, open-minded urbanites then I feel as balanced as refreshed as in any landscape.

My ideal place? A medium sized city somewhere on the west coast.