Purchase a copy of
The Lively Place to read the rest of Kendrick ’ s engaging tribute to Mount Auburn .
exclaimed ,‘ There goes a Sainte-Terrer ,’ a Saunterer , a Holy-Lander .” So every walk can become , under sly pretneses perhaps , a pilgrimage , a hike to the Holy Land . Still , striding with purpose or ambling with note , any walk is in the direction of something sacred .“ So we saunder toward the Holy Land , till one day the sun shall shine more brightly than ever he has done ... as warm and serene and golden as on a bank-side in autumn ,” Thoreau concludes .
As long as you are lost in Mount Auburn , let me offer a little advice . Keep moving and the circling roads will not let you be disoriented for too long . They are designed to curl back upon one another , like the spiral in a seashell or the twist in your DNA or the wheeling of the stars above your head ( though I trust you ’ ll be out and striding past Story Chapel before they appear ). The founders would not let you down . You are supposed to only feel lost , not actually be lost .
And as you go , pay attention . Never let a perambulation in this place be wasted — look up and look around . A lot is happening . A blue heron is gliding overhead . A raccoon is shuffling along the rose hedge to your right . The clouds above you — if you read them right and sense the wind picking up and lifting the silver undersides of the shaking trees — tell you it is going to rain tomorrow . You just passed the grave of the man who invented parcel post delivery .
“ You can observe a lot by watching ,” said Yogi Berra , who said a great many things he probably never said , but you will find it true .
These vistas were designed to confuse you , in a gentle way ; so circle on . Turn something off , even if it is just the insistent jabber in your head . You would be surprised how much you will hear when you are silent , and the surrounding air surrenders up its reverberations . It is a good tradeoff . Then you can sense the wind moving through the tall grasses , and hear the rough caw of an obnoxious blue jay .”
Purchase a copy of
The Lively Place to read the rest of Kendrick ’ s engaging tribute to Mount Auburn .
Copies are available for purchase through the Friends of Mount Auburn online and at our Visitors Center . Members receive a discount off the cover price .
© Matthew A . Longo , 2015
2016 Volume 2 | 19