Deep Down Things: The Earth in Celebration and Dismay »

Beloved and critically acclaimed author Lin Jensen returns with this bounteous volume exploring what the poet Gerard Manley Hopkins calls “deep down things.” Richly informed by deep ecology, Lin’s writing explores our intimate connection to the land, to the specificities of place, and to the living earth itself—all as Lin uncovers our own deepest nature, the true heart of what it means to be human. There is much in what’s happening in our environment now that can and perhaps should be cause for dismay— and Deep Down Things looks squarely at all of this and nonetheless gives us ample cause for celebration.

Acknowledgments ix

Earth: An Introduction 1

Roots 7

Ten Hearts of an Earthworm 13

Sighting the Morning Star 19

Four Truths that Spare the Earth 25

Earth Lineage 35

Having the Lake to Ourselves 45

Getting Rid of the Rabbits 49

By Right of Mercy 53

Buddhist Economics 59

The Nature of Place 63

When Too Many Are Not Enough 71

A Matter of Scale 77

Digging Holes 81

What's Fair 87

Ringing the Bell 91

A Look into the Mirror 95

Kitchen 99

A Gathering of Spirit Like Rainwater 103

Victory Garden 107

The Whole World Is Kin 115

Earth Fear 119

A Most Righteous Horse 123

Scavengers 127

Oh, Beautiful 131

Fruits of Refuse 135

When You Don't Know Who You Are 137

Milking the Cow 141

Witness: An Epilogue 145

Related Material

Real Estate 149

Defending Earth 153

Index 159

About the Author 164