14 Ways of Looking at Place
Photo: eonaxon
TWO SEMI-STRANGE things in a final couple days have occasioned me to consider some-more about place than usual:
A. On a call with a group of transport selling people, an senior manager pronounced position place as in there have been ways we similar to to position place [doggy-style?]
B. One of my favorite writers posted a weird blog post that talked about a nation song song as well as how a lyrics would lead we to consider that a guy singing was from a country, though afterwards after researching a singers hometown (and posting census data about education, jobs, median income there), his conclusion was Im approach some-more bumpkin than he is.
Using these dual examples (as well as several others that will follow), Id similar to to inspect a little of a usual ways people appear to demeanour during place. It should be remarkable that we dont demeanour these ways in a context of right or wrong though some-more as reflections of peoples relations with place that exist in sure points in time. we dont consider anyone looks during place in a single of a forms next exclusively, though as a constantly becoming opposite as well as elaborating mix.
14 WAYS OF LOOKING AT PLACE
Well proceed with dual categorical ways of seeking during place, mythologizing as well as commodifying, as well as from there demeanour during alternative ways, many of that have been combinations of these two.
Mythologizing
Mythologizing place is seeking during place as an abstraction. People mythologize place by (a) assigning a little kind of abstraction [ex: virtue, nostalgia, chivalrousness, turn of 'hickness' ] to it, or similarly (b) assigning a little kind of abstraction or quality to themselves since of it (This is what a writer in! e.g. B upon top of was doing).
Ex: The South taught me how to be a gentleman.
No, your relatives did.
Mythologizing is a action of formulating illusions about place. These illusions exist inside of a inequality in between a petrify being a person practice in a place (examples: how long he/she has lived there, where he/she livesdowntown, suburbs, outlying areas, his/her role in a internal economy, his/her community / friends) contra a picture he or she has of a place.
Mythologizing mostly happens when people demeanour back during where they grew up, or lived, or once traveled, as well as feel sure emotions that didnt exist when they actually lived or traveled there.
Ex: Ive never been in a hotter place than a soccer margin in North Georgia in a summer.
No, actually it was much hotter when we were in Ecuador.
Commodifying [fundamental]
Commodifying (on a fundamental level) is shortening place in to a singular context of resources in petrify reality. Examples would be seeking during forests as timber to be harvested or rivers as hydroelectric potential.
Commodifying [common]
There exists however a much subtler as well as some-more pervasive form of commodifying where instead of petrify reality, a context of resources includes abstractions, associations, appeal, or image. This is how a selling woman in a call upon top of was seeking during placeas an picture that indispensable to be finished a sure way, transformed in to a product to be positioned in a market.
Most people appear to rivet in this form of commodifying without ever meditative about it. For example, when we lived in Seattle, oftentimes we told people some-more or reduction Seattle is good since we have easy access to a mountains.
Heres another example:
In a single of Lola Akinmades blogs, a woman said: Ive only been back from The Gambia. . .Desperately bad country. Desperate. . .But theyve got 500 class of birds!
One of my bros once described San Francisco as ! carrying culture as well as surf.
This all reflects how people lend towards to reduce place in to a couple of resources that might not even be resources in petrify reality, as well as afterwards evaluate place inside of this context.
As terrain
This approach of seeking during place is a specialized form of commodifying thats prevalent among surfers, mountaineers, kayakers, snowboarders, as well as alternative people who live for exploring place. The universe might be seen in a context of terrain to be ascended, descended, surfed.
As Inspiration
This ties in both with mythologizing as well as commodifying: Some people might demeanour during place inside of a context of inspiration. These have been mostly writers, photographers, poets, filmmakers, artists, as well as others who transport or move to places since they have a certain effect upon their work.
As Escape
This is similar to inspiration: Some people demeanour during place as a intensity escape from whatever they have been experiencing during home.
Symptomatic of Suburbanization
For many who grew up in situations where they watched (as we did) their hometowns renovate from semi-rural areas in to undiluted suburban sprawl, it is usual to demeanour during place in a context of suburbanization. Examples of this have been evaluating place upon a basis of internal manage to buy (mom as well as pop stores) vs. big box retailers, as well as being hypersensitive to signs of suburbanization (Ex: gated communities, McDonalds) while traveling.
Symptomatic of Environmental Impact
Similarly, many people demeanour during place inside of a context of environmental denigration vs purity.
As Isolation
Some people demeanour during place upon a basis of vicinity to alternative people. One might live approach out there or, conversely, close to people. Throughout history, this approach of seeking during place has been used for environment up prisons, such as a location of jail camps in! removed regions of South Dakota during WWII.
As First World vs Third World
Some people demeanour during place upon a spectrum of First World vs.Third World. Once we heard a late lawyer in Sarasota Florida review dual adjacent countries in South America based wholly upon a internal people looming to be Indian vs. white.
As One
Certain people during particular moments (ex: eremite or overjoyed practice presumably involving hallucinogens, or situations of extreme fear / joy, such as witnessing death, birth, or alternative situations similar to getting tubed in a little monster call in Tahiti) might transcend seeking during place as well as momentarily fully inhabit or transcend place. In my own practice Ive found sure moments to cause me to feel as if we were a single with where a experience was taking place.
As a little alternative approach that many of us carrying grown up in modern society substantially cannot comprehend
I feel similar to all of these ways of seeking during place listed upon top of leave out an critical alternative possibility, that is seeking during place when youve never well known anything else on top of that place. Im meditative about people similar to Indians in a Amazon whove never had contact with a outside.
It seems similar to all of a ways of seeking during place upon top of imply a disconnection with place. We demeanour during place in terms of opposite thingsabstractions, commoditieswhen theres a covering separating us from being fully there.
I can only imagine how it would feel if everything about a placethe plants, animals, terrainand a people who live there with we (and whod died there) all share a same context / reality.
Community Connection
What alternative ways do people demeanour during place?
How has your ways of seeking during place evolved / altered over time?
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