The Profound Practice of Appreciation at its Most Ascendant

Greetings to the intrepid trekkers!

As the days of wonder in the High Sierras are rapidly approaching, we are getting pretty excited around here. I wanted to send you all a favorite quote of mine that I often read to my art students. When you read it you may think it is more suited to your trek through the Sierras than to my student’s trek through the rigors of fine art training. And yet, I think it is one of those universal quotes; one that touches on a true secret of a well lived life. I offer it as my fondest wish for you all. During your trek, may you experience many transcendent moments of appreciating the beauty of the wilderness around you and the beauty of your moments together. For that is at the heart of this quote. In Dawson’s description of the Hermit Thrush, you can sense the profound practice of appreciation at its most ascendant. I wish you a wealth of these moments. And here finally is the quote:

You don’t befriend a Hermit Thrush by storm, but with quietude and reverence. For, as William Leon Dawson wrote, this thrush - and especially its song - is “a thing apart... it is sacred music, not secular... Mounted on the chancel of some low-crowned fir tree, the bird looks calmly at the setting sun, and slowly phrases his worship in such dulcet tones, exalted, pure, serene, as must haunt the corridors of memory forever after” (Dawson 1923)
-David Gaines, Birds of Yosemite and the East Slope-

Gambaro
Marc