Any readers here? I was so sad to learn that Ursula LeGuin passed on the 22nd of January. I used to filter everything my young daughter read back in the 70s, and finding LeGuin was wonderful, for both of us. While a lot of her work was referenced for children and young adults, I found her work very thought provoking and quite deep. And in celebration of her skills as an author, I want to share the following passage from The Farthest Shore, 1972...
"On every act, the Balance of the Whole depends. The winds and seas, the powers of water and earth and light, all that these do, and all that the beasts and green things do, is well done, and rightly done. All these act within the Equilibrium, from the hurricane and the great whale's sounding to the fall of a dry leaf and the gnat's flight, all they do is done within the Balance of the Whole....But we, insofar as we have power over the world and over one another, we must LEARN (caps mine) to do what the leaf and the whale and the wind do of their own nature. We must learn to keep the balance."
This is so eloquent, so true and speaks in such a clear voice. I am grateful to LeGuin for provoking and inspiring both my daughter and myself. I mourn her passing, but continue to celebrate her great spirit. I find her thoughts quite timely, to this day. Not only as regards the environment, but also the manner in which people treat their fellow man. Too bad presidents don't read!