Karin E. Zirk's Blog, page 2

Hope & Challenges

When thinking about hope, I always think about Emily Dickenson and her poem

Image by Robert Balog from Pixabay

“Hope” is the thing with feathers –That perches in the soul –And sings the tune without the words –And never stops – at all –

Yet for me hope, is more like the surf.  It comes in waves, then crashes on the shore completely falling apart, before regaining it’s strength and coming in again. As I try and fail at new things, my sense of who I am is transformed, sometimes leaving me pro...

(Re)Imagining the Past

Prior to colonization, Estonia was a land of small settlements, villages, and farms. That all ended in the Thirteenth Century with the northern crusades (a topic for another day). The year my father was born, 1918, Estonia declared independence and by 1920 was the Republic of Estonia, an independent country.

Image by Wolfgang Eckert from Pixabay

During the first period of independence that lasted until 1939, Estonians sought to reclaim, re-imagine, and/or reinvent the authentic Estonian spiritua...

On Freedom

Freedom is a concept bandied about in the USA as if it was the solution to all our problems. Yet, the word freedom has multiple meanings in different contexts.  On an individual level, freedom can mean not imprisoned or unrestrained. Other meanings include the ability to change or a sense of autonomy. Some people feel that freedom means the right to do as they please regardless of the consequences to the planet and other living creatures including humans.

Interestingly enough, the USA’s Declarat...

The Land of My Ancestors

In California, I live on the land of the Kuumeyaay / Iipai-Tiipai.  I am aware I am living on someone else’s ancestral land, I am part of a community group that cares for the creek and salt marsh by my home, and I do my best to honor the land and the culture that lived in harmony for thousands of years in this area.

Emajõgi (Mother river) from Kaarsild (Arch bridge) in downtown Tartu.

In Estonia, I walked on my own land. The land upon which my father grew up. I imagined him swimming in the Emajõ...

Old Wooden Houses

The house where my grandmother lived.

Estonia is full of old wooden houses. Many of them are a few hundred years old. You’ll find them in cities like Tallinn and in the countryside as well.  These old wooden houses provided shelter for both families and often times their farm animals as well. In a land where trees grow like weeds and pop out of the roofs of houses, abandoned cars, and old boats, houses were built from wood. Traditional buildings have a thatched roof, but these days many have bee...

Gathering Sounds: Book review

Gathering Sounds is at once an opus on the art of field recording and a collection of philosophical musings on life. While the subject matter of the recordings focuses on sounds from rainbow gatherings, it functions as a meta-analysis on modern life with technical tips for those interested in the science and art of field recordings.

First page of chapter three of the book.

Author Tenali Hrenak incorporates art work and essays from other gathering participants, but the real star in this work is t...

Lembitu

In the thirteenth century, the German Livonian Brothers of the Sword entered the lands we now call Estonia as part of the medieval crusades.  Lembitu was part of the Estonian resistance to the German invasion. According to some sources, he was a leader of a small area in what is today Southern Estonia.

Until this time, most of Estonia consisted of small settlements that were not part of a nation-state. With a core common language that contained regional distinctions, the pagan Estonians lacked a...

The Forest as Cultural Heart of Estonians

In July, I presented preliminary research on Estonian folklore and depth psychology using the work of James Hillman and Mary Watkins at the Fates and Graces Mythologium.

Thanks to the wonders of modern technology you can watch the presentation.  I would love feedback, comments, criticisms, etc..   Let’s start a conversation.  I recommend you set the speed to 1.25 or 1.5 instead of normal speed.

Meet Me at the Mythologium

I will be presenting at the Fates and Graces Mythologium on Friday, July 28 at 2:00 PM.   My presentation is called “The Forest as Cultural Heart of Estonians.”

The Mushroom King from Estonian Folklore

In Estonian folklore, the forest forms an integral cultural theme that serves as an anchor for “Estonianness,” culture creation, and nation building as outlined by Atko Remmel and Tõnno Jonuks. However, due to historical and linguistic challenges, Estonian folklore has been underrepresented in myt...

Colonizer and the Colonized

Image by Henri Apell from Pixabay

The net of colonialism is wide with tiny openings from which almost no one escapes.  Growing up in the USA I learned that we were the colonizers of the land upon which the nation sits.  Despite the emergence of the USA out of the belly of other colonial powers, those who founded the USA continued the same practices as the British, French, Spanish. and Russian powers that began the occupation of North America.  As has happened again and again throughout history, ...