While I was reading the paper one thing kept popping back into my head, and that was my previous though of 'refugee'. Heidegger talks about the need to dwell as finding a harmony between the fourfold through various means.. and I realize that this sentence is incomplete but for now will suffice. Especially when he spoke of freedom as being in ones own "presencing" or to preserve peace... to allow something to exist in it's own being. When I was considering the definition of refugee I realized it was truly anyone who fled to avoid prosecution or danger, or perceived prosecution or danger. A refugee was also referred to as an asylum seeker. An asylum is a place of retreat and security.
My current roommates are the kind of people that might be stereotyped as hippies. We run a compost, we reuse our zip lock bags, and they cook a lot of vegan foods. Well for two years or so they lived off the grid, without electricity, in a community in the forest of N.Carolina. They created the plywood spheres I talked about previously (and will hopefully be able to scan the pictures of soon) and worked within this community to provide everything they needed. I think this structure is a very good example of a true modern dwelling. From what they have talked to me about, and from the pictures I have seen and the ideas I have gathered, it really seems like an environment where all of the characteristics Heidegger talks about come together. But it is much less about the structure and more about everything else... more about the community and the separation from what our society considers normal. The structure is needed to survive, and is an expression of our need to dwell, but the structure was only a very small piece of their ability to preserve peace and to cultivate.
I mentioned that I was going to take a road trip.. I am driving from Park City to Vegas to meet a friend for her birthday for a night but then want to take a day or two to drive through some of the south west monuments and ruins. Hovenweep is near the four corners and would be a HUGE trip outside of the needed driving to and from vegas... but I think it might be worth it. I am not sure what I might find there or how it will pertain to what I am exploring but it feels like it could be very impacting. There are also some sites near flagstaff that I could check out that would be along (or near) one of the routes I could take to get there. I will find out tomorrow when I work next week and how much time I can allow for this detour..
No comments:
Post a Comment