"The more I learn about ancestral skills, the more I see the symbiotic relationships between humans and decay. Fermentation preserves food, the stinkiest deer hide (within reason) turns into the softest buckskin, burying pottery clay ages it to perfection, indigo has to decay to release the vibrant blue hue. We could even say that mushrooms contributed to our evolution as a species. To practice decay in our lives is not only to participate with our environment and keep resources flowing, but to continue the skills and remember what it means to be human on earth."
All of this. Overculture demands everything must happen instantly. That the product must arrive immediately and that waste material just vanishes, who cares where. These habits, normalized within my lifetime, are astonishingly out of sync with rhythms of life. Millions of years worth of plant decay became the fossil fuels we are blazing through.
This is a lovely post, thankyou. Couldn't agree more.
Thank you for reading, Caroline. I’ve followed your work for a long time, and happy to have found your blog here on Substack.
I have similar experiences re losing a place to fire so feel for you. Good luck in all you do. Really enjoying your posts!
"The more I learn about ancestral skills, the more I see the symbiotic relationships between humans and decay. Fermentation preserves food, the stinkiest deer hide (within reason) turns into the softest buckskin, burying pottery clay ages it to perfection, indigo has to decay to release the vibrant blue hue. We could even say that mushrooms contributed to our evolution as a species. To practice decay in our lives is not only to participate with our environment and keep resources flowing, but to continue the skills and remember what it means to be human on earth."
All of this. Overculture demands everything must happen instantly. That the product must arrive immediately and that waste material just vanishes, who cares where. These habits, normalized within my lifetime, are astonishingly out of sync with rhythms of life. Millions of years worth of plant decay became the fossil fuels we are blazing through.