One foot through the door
“They say that travelling opens doors, gives people new perspectives. This is only partially true. People carry their doors with them: perspectives seldom truly change.” I’m setting one foot into Terra, The Dark Mountain Project’s new book, and this image is from one of its earlier essays, by Nick Hunt. Every journey, the next village, the next continent: a portal into that new perspective, new dimensions. Nick is recounting his travels in Ethiopia: the cultural and natural experiences that bring new things into visibility, push others into invisibility; and the “preconceptions [that] can be destroyed” with each one although, as he suggests, we carry so many with us without noticing the load on us or on the land.
His essay is an appeal to travel, open the self up to others, but to tread carefully. “If we stay within our horizons, surrounded by people who are the same as us, it precludes all hope. We shut off any possibility of having our automatic beliefs .. smashed so their rubble can make new shapes.” I’m with him. Though I ramble closer to home, I’m grateful to those who carry their doors further, test them, and help me see through to open views.
He read part of this essay at the Terra book launch, but I would have been happier had he talked about the topic not read from the book.
I regret not picking up a copy of Terra, but for me, the typeface far too small.
Books should be legible.
Sorry to hear that was disappointing, Keith. Interesting the different preferences we all have; personally, I always enjoy a literary reading (though it’s good to have time for discussion too), and a pocket-size book that won’t stress my overcrowded bookshelves feels like a bonus! I’m sorry I missed the launch.