Geomancy Quote by Tim Gilmore This Kind of City Ghost stories and psychological landscapes
““Nothing truly beautiful without its element of strangeness, nothing whole without its own incongruity, these (Jacksonville-area pioneer house) ruins sand up from the earth in sacred conjunction. These ruins conjoin the earth and the manmade, moving from one to the other and back again. The Browards built their house out of shell and limestone, and limestone forms naturally from the shells and skeletons of miniscule sea creatures over great periods of time. The Browards shaped the earth upright toward the sky. THey shaped it with doorframes and windows and chimneys. THey shaped the earth up around them as a shelter. But shaped earth was always the earth. Now the walls fall back down and join once again the ground, taken over by roots of ferns and weeds and small trees. The house was always the ground, only contained in an upward suspension. The house was always the earth, but brought up into architecture, and now the house that was always the earth crumbles back into the earth and nourishes new green things -- dog fennel and morning glories and palmettoes and cabbage palms and cedars. A true symbol of sacredness of the earth is earth's reclaiming of human ingenuity.””
About This Quote
Source Essay: City Ghost Stories and Psychological Landscapes, unknown source
Ruins illustrate the cyclical relationship between human creation and nature, showing that built structures eventually return to earth.
In simple terms: Human creations eventually become part of nature.
Respect the impermanence of human achievements.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- urban planning
- environmental restoration
- heritage preservation
- mindfulness
Key Concepts
Questions to Reflect On
- How can we honor past creations while embracing change?
- What responsibilities do we have toward natural cycles?
Focusing on decay can foster nihilism.