Keatsian Prophecy

In a letter to his brothers in 1817, the poet Keats wrote:

"Negative Capability... when a man is capable of being in uncertainties, mysteries, doubts, without any irritable reaching after fact and reason."

Such intellectual and philosophical depths may be possible, but I continually find myself "reaching after fact and reason" with regard to current events. In the past few years, I've become more and more sensitive, or let's just say, attuned, to concerns on the national and global scale. Perhaps my creakiness has provoked such existential awareness; perhaps it's because as a puppy I did not read _The New York Times_. I did not follow famine, vast political instability, and violent uprisings in Africa. I would not have read about Matthew Shephard being tortured to death, or Chechen guerillas taking an entire theater hostage in Moscow, or synagogues being firebombed in Paris, when I was little. At times it seems very odd to look out the window and see a beautiful sunny day when so many tenets of civil liberty, of life, are being destroyed elsewhere. Elsewhere, at least, until the Trade Center towers fell last year, just miles away. Elsewhere, until people we knew were killed in the inferno (it should be inferred I would have felt the same grief and horror if we had not known anyone involved).

To comprehend or understand events like these connotes approval or sympathy for the perpetrators, whereas to denounce such horrors seems more appropriate. But the "uncertainties, mysteries" and "doubts" remain ever in the background--and to what end? Keats' "negative capability" provides an interesting lens to contemplate--and, one might even say, an 'out' from-- the weight of the world. I don't have the answers, but since I've been especially interested in appreciating life recently, this column will follow up on the theme of personal renaissance in informally exploring a few enjoyable pursuits to consider undertaking.

1. Go to Sea. As Ishmael tells us in Moby Dick, "Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing before coffin warehouses, and bringing up the rear of every funeral I meet; and especially whenever my hypos get such an upper hand of me, that it requires a strong moral principle to prevent me from deliberately stepping into the street, and methodically knocking people's hats off -- then, I account it high time to get to sea as soon as I can." Now, going to sea does not mean a requisite whale hunt. Take a ferry, row a canoe, paddle a kayak, go on a cruise. Go swimming, go scuba diving, wade around, jump around in the water. In essence, get out there. Get some perspective on the land to which we so often retreat. Explore!
2. Read a great book. Perhaps a travel narrative, or a suspenseful mystery, or a fun biography. I've read Sue Grafton's alphabet mysteries for years; her spunky heroine, Kinsey Millhone, is a great role model and makes me laugh. Curl up by the fire with some milk and cookies or wine and cheese, and get lost in the pages.
3. Carve a pumpkin and go apple picking. Halloween is approaching! No matter how old you are, or how juvenile the holiday may seem to you, buy a pumpkin. If we've learned anything lately it's that Martha Stewart doesn't always have all the answers; settle on a fun design yourself, and enlist friends, family, or neighbors to help spoon out the seeds. Then you can toast them and have a magnificent feast, perhaps along with some mulled cider and fresh donuts. Apple picking is just as rewarding. Pull a glorious golden delicious off the tree, rub it on your khakis, and take a huge bite, letting the juice drip down your chin. Ideas for the 478 apples you bring home: pie, crisp, candied, chocolate-covered, fruit salad, tarte tatin, muffins, strudel, croissants...you get my drift.
4. Skip the grocery store and go to a farmer's market. You'll be supporting individuals rather than a huge chain, and it's wonderful to ponder over eleven types of tomatoes and cherry tarts. The fruits and vegetables are usually excellent, as well as inexpensive. You might even be able to obtain lovely homemade soaps, or delicious hard cider with a kick. At our local farmer's market, men, women, children, and canines abound, all delightfully sorting through which bread to acquire, which fresh salsa to try, which flowers to pick.
5. Exercise! Get out there, whether it's a few steps or a few miles. Walk, run, swim, bike, spin, dance. Whatever your level of creakiness, remember how good it feels to be active. Turn up some music, or, alternatively, revel in the quiet sounds of a forest during a hike. Walk along the beach and listen to the seagulls.
6. Volunteer. Helping someone is always a positive pursuit, and to me, the most important one. Volunteering at a women's shelter was one of the best things I ever did. Everyone loves a friendly dog, of course. But beyond that, as Bruce Springsteen sings in "No Retreat, No Surrender, "We learned more from a three minute record baby, than we ever learned in school." I learned a great deal volunteering at the shelter. It was as rewarding as it was disarming. I began with numerous preconceptions, all destroyed in positive ways.
7. Why are you still reading this? Maybe I'm shooting myself in the foot here, but try turning off your computer for a while. Tune in more to the people around you, and tune out the internet. Maybe the tv, too. I know I spend way too much time on my computer, doing work or surfing the net. It's liberating to walk away.

This ends my missive for this week. Remember Keats and negative capability. Remember Ishmael and be assured in knowing that his journey was not just an escape; it was necessary for survival.