Gravity is the root of lightness;
calm is the master of excitement.
Thereby do exemplary people travel all day
without leaving their equipment.
Though they have a look of prosperity,
their resting place is transcendent.
What can be done about heads of state
who take the world lightly in their own self-interest?
Lack of gravity loses servants of state;
instability loses heads of state.

– Thomas Cleary

 

Heavy is the root of light
still is the master of restless
thus a lord might travel all day
but never far from his supplies
even in a guarded camp
his manner is calm and aloof
why would the lord of ten thousand chariots
treat himself lighter than his kingdom
too light he loses his base
too restless he loses his command

– Red Pine

 

As weight anchors lightness
And calm governs impulse,
The wise leader, all day on the march,
Stays by his stockage train
Within his guarded cordon,
Safely positioned, beyond harm’s reach.
Could the lord of ten thousand wagons of war
Risk his own self for the sake of the world?
Let such lightness lose him his anchoring base?
Such impulse his rule?

– Moss Roberts


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#230 – The mythology of the bear, and Byron gets apocalyptic Human Voices Wake Us

An episode from 5/18/26: Tonight I read about the bear in folklore and mythology from two books everybody should have on their shelves: the Taschen Book of Symbols and the Penguin Dictionary of Symbols. Browsing through either puts you in contact with our best stories and, with the Taschen book, some of our best artwork.Next, I read Lord Byron’s (1788-1824) apocalyptic poem Darkness from 1816. You can read more about the volcanic eruption that inspired poem, and produced the “year without summer,” here.Finally, I read a few passages on revelation and the religious experience from the rabbi, theologian and civil rights activist Abraham Joshua Heshel’s (1907-1962) God in Search of Man: A Philosophy of Judaism.The best way to support the podcast is by leaving a review on Apple or Spotify, sharing it with others, or sending me a note on what you think. You can also order any of my books: Time and the River: From Columbine to the Invention of Fire, Notes from the Grid, To the House of the Sun, The Lonely Young & the Lonely Old, and Bone Antler Stone. I've also edited a handful of books in the S4N Pocket Poems series. I also have a YouTube channel where I share poems and excerpts from these books, mostly as YouTube shorts.Email me at humanvoiceswakeus1@gmail.com.
  1. #230 – The mythology of the bear, and Byron gets apocalyptic
  2. #229 : Mother Earth and myths of mining and agriculture
  3. #228 – What Ted Bundy did on July 14, 1974
  4. #227 – The Great Fire of London and the destruction of Jerusalem
  5. #226: The Vitality and terror of cities
  6. #225 – The invention of the wheel, and the power of storytelling
  7. #224: Let's talk about William Blake
  8. #223 – How to write two novels at the same time, with Charles Dickens
  9. #222: Seamus Heaney – 10 Essential Poems
  10. #221: Volcanoes, Plagues & the Childhood of a Kabbalist

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