“From the summit of the years, I look back over my life and see what I have escaped and what I have missed.” Published in 1913, Summit of the Years is a collection of essays John Burroughs penned when he turned 70. It is a contemplative exploration of transition that looks back and forward, with nature as guide and companion.
“The longer I live the more my mind dwells upon the beauty and the wonder of the world. I hardly know which feeling leads, wonderment or admiration. After a man has passed the psalmist’s dead line of seventy years…if he is of a certain temperament, he becomes more and more detached from the noise and turmoil of the times in which he lives…. More and more is he impressed with life and nature in themselves and the beauty and the grandeur of the voyage we are making on this planet.”
Seventy years is a remarkable point in the human experience. The comedian George Carlin explained in one of his routines on aging, “You become 21. Turn 30. Push 40. Reach 50 and make it to 60. You’ve built up so much speed that you hit 70!” It’s a collision of time and space of wisdom and uncertainty of joy and pain, fear and peace.
NHSM is reaching out to those in its Community of the Curious who are 70 adjacent (65-75 years) to engage in an exploration of this unique human experience using John Burrough’s writings as a starting point. Part book club, part writing club, part sharing our wisdom of life. The structure of this sharing will be built by the participants, all of a certain age, who all find wonder and comfort in nature. We will gather by Zoom so that neither night nor weather nor need for transportation will hinder us. Our inaugural gathering will be Tuesday, January 28 at 7:00 PM. It is free, but you must RSVP to receive the Zoom details.
If you are unfamiliar with John Burroughs here are a few links you may wish to explore.
- Summit of the Years is in the public domain and is available online free of charge here: babel.hathitrust.org
- John Burroughs Association: www.johnburroughsassociation.
org - “The Long Brown Path: What Happened to John Burroughs?”
- John Burroughs the Catskill Guru (Film) on YouTube
- Books by John Burroughs
“How can one help marveling at the voyage we are making on this planet? One has to lift one’s self up and use one’s imagination to see that it is a voyage, and that our course lies through the star-paved abysses of infinite space.”