The peace of wild things. — Key Takeaways
Wendell Berry's poem "The Peace of Wild Things" offers a grounding practice: when world-despair hits, seek nature's presence rather than answers.
Key takeaways
If basic needs (sleep, eating) are subsidized to succeed, the goal is wrong for you
If basic needs (sleep, eating) are subsidized to succeed, the goal is wrong for you
- Creator realized she was sacrificing sleep and eating to hit platform/business goals — and reframed that as a signal to stop, not push harder.
- Reoriented priorities to relationships and presence after her oldest son's graduation triggered a two-year 'undoing.'
Nature grounds anxiety because it moves toward balance without questioning its own purpose
Nature grounds anxiety because it moves toward balance without questioning its own purpose
- Wendell Berry's poem 'The Peace of Wild Things' frames nature as a refuge precisely because animals don't rehearse grief or forethought.
- Creator extends this: goats, seeds, and garden all execute their design without doubt — modeling the trust she's trying to build in herself.
Wendell Berry wrote everything by hand — no computer, ever
Wendell Berry wrote everything by hand — no computer, ever
- Creator notes this while reflecting on AI-generated text flooding the internet, making Berry's entirely handwritten body of work a striking contrast.
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In this video
- 1mSettling In with the New Goats
- 1mWendell Berry's Life and Work
- 4mReading 'The Peace of Wild Things'
- 5mAsking How to Be Human
- 9mNature as Grounding and the Value of Presence
“I come into the peace of wild things who do not tax their lives with forethought of grief.”
— Wendell Berry (quoted)
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