Wednesday 21 April 2010

the secret garden vs. the universe


yesterday i listened to peter yearsley read secret chambers and hiding places by allan fea on librivox... and i began to think about hiding. and what is hidden. its human nature to hide. its human nature to want to hide... or need to hide... or to be forced to hide. for fear, for shame, for safety, protection, or for suppression.

and in the chamber, pain whorls around... deep silence and darkness mock your senses. but something else happens. some great undertow takes hold and grows roots... and things that are in secret grow... they grow in a wild way that only unseen things do. like mushrooms or wishes, cup moss or tiny black spiders. they are a universe of magic. they are whole onto them selves. locked away and growing.

i thought about anne frank. living.
i thought about the children coming out of hiding .. up from the ground.. "all eyes like potatoes" like from that jewish poem i dont know the name of. i thought of the priests.. hiding their masses in secret compartments inside of chimneys. communing with a spirit forbidden. hiding books behind panels in closets and practicing alchemy... turning words into gold by a lock and a twisting key.

then i watched this video by hank green
now i am in the garden nursing my whiplash.

15 comments:

yew tree nights said...

Now, to imagine all of zillions of minuscule hiding places in all those zillions of galaxies, I can see why you've retreated to your garden.
Have a lovely afternoon!

stephanie dosen said...

yes the little spaces in my brain is hurtsing.

ps. the picture is from we ♥ it
also.
if anyone listens to the audio book.. it gets
better as the chapters go on.. chapter one
is a bit difficult.. sort of... and then.. well
if you love hank green, then.. i love you!
xoxo

The Scrybe said...

I love hiding, although at times I'm unsure what I'm hiding from... :)

Gerry Snape said...

what an interesting book! we have lots of tunnels in this area as cromwell was popular here so the catholics of widnes hid from that persecution . I love to hear stories of people being saved by secrecy.

Jorge Morales said...

escondida detras de mil sonrisas
crecen las carcajadas
escondido detras de mi corbata
mi corazon sigue latiendo
la vida se esconde y crece y es bella
nice blog, good music, great sweater !!!

poet said...

Beautiful text, and a topic deserving serious consideration.

I want to hide because I want to, not because I have to. I want my secret garden as a refuge from the things I am weary of, not the things that threaten me... I'm working on it, though.

Ϩtεℓℓα said...

i think it´d be much better if we didn´t hide ourselves, if we showed how we really are. It would be easier

xxx

Anonymous said...

I love this post.
I'm always hiding.

LOVE!

stephanie dosen said...

isnt it funny that as a kid the first thing you do
is make a fort and hide in it. or you hide in your closet.. or under your bed. and you play hide and seek. and the thumping of your chest when you are hiding. you feel so real... and when you are found.

just the other day i was cleaning out my closet
and taking the clothes to the charity shop
when i looked at my empty closet and
thought about leaving the clothes out
and putting a little bookshelf in there
with my most favourite books.. and
a little candle. and then i could
read in there in secret. secret
just makes it better ♥

Jo Potter said...

That is a great idea. A small secret reading room!
I like hiding places too. Once I hid in a tree in the woods and watched two wild deers for ages. They did not know I was there. Looking down at them from the tree tops.;)
xxx

Anonymous said...

Hello, I have been quietly reading your blog for eons, it is one of my favouritest treats on lonely days. But today I decided to come out of hiding and say hello. I really enjoyed this post; anything about the universe makes my heart beat faster. I can't describe how beautiful your blog is or how inspiring you are, but I hope you have gotten a vague idea. Have a magical day. x

Katherine said...

I downloaded Secret Chambers & Hiding Places and listened to it all yesterday! :D Its was so good. Books like that make me so excited about history.
Thank you x100 for the link, and your blog, as always, is wonderful!

stephanie dosen said...

thanks so much everyone :)
im glad everyone is thinking
of their favourite hiding places ♥
mine is now in the garden
because ive been desperately
trying to tangle with it all day.

im all scrapes and bruises!
weeds! you naughty brambles!
dandelions RAWR!

Natanya Louise Waybourne said...

This looks just like the photos I took of you in your garden! spooky! <3

Such a Wondrous Place this Faery Space said...

Goodness we actually did that for my daughter! We live in a big old chippy 1860's house that was my home to my Grandparents and it has two closets, very fun and rare that all the rooms have nice closets! anyway, sometime I will show you a picture of how we made it a special little room with faery nets and old dolls and hats that were my Mom's and her three sisters and old little hats with nets that were Great Grandma's etc. It is our fave place to sit and read and close out the world... close... closet, cool that they are so alike in etymology. Blessings.