Walkabout: A deep map

(The mind is a landscape we must explore on foot, tourism is not enough.)


A map is not neccesarily only a patch of land, it can also represent an intellectual territory.
A personal domain.

A nomadic journey, a walkabout, are but expeditions into our own inner space.

A creative person needs knowlege of their own domain, - to map its features, pathways, waterholes, flora and fauna. Nor is it only a question of feeling our way across the surface like a blind spider. Deep seismic soundings need to be taken in order to explore its inner geography, and mineral resources.

We should sit by the campfire long into evenings and listen to the tales and legends of our ancestors who inhabited this land before us. We should take stock of their beleifs and customs for they alsdo were born out of the same soil, through different eyes.

We should compare notes, and learn through old experience grafted on to new shoots.

If we build a model of this territory, what would it look like?
Would it be a picture, a diagram, an object, a song? What would it taste like?

This map should be re-drawn each year, and the changes noticed.

Can you leave behind you a map which will help others to pass peacefully through your domain, free from danger, famine or ignorance?

Can you describe the treaties you have made with the inhabitants of other territories which overlap your ancient riverbeds?

Can you describe the features of your landscape for your children with moral force?

O

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© John Hodkinson. 2002