Planting Ourselves In A Tall Forest
I have been described as being eclectic and I would have to say that I am guilty as charged. I do have very diverse interests and influences that span various fields, ideas, and cultural perspectives. This eclectic approach allows me to draw from multiple sources, styles, or traditions rather than adhering to a single framework or ideology. I describe this as having a blend of ideas. This eclecticism grants the incorporation of different philosophies, methodologies, and subject matters to create a more comprehensive learning experience for both myself and my clients.
Iconic poet T. S. Eliot created rich tapestries of meaning and emotion, making his work resonate on multiple levels. Thomas R. Rees described Eliot as a “master of eclectic synthesis.” This highlights Eliot’s unique ability to draw from a wide variety of influences and styles, melding them into a cohesive and innovative body of work. Eliot’s poetry often incorporates diverse cultural, literary, and philosophical elements, reflecting his deep engagement with different traditions and his skill in reinterpreting them.
Eliot believed that to find our own “originality” we need to surround ourselves with strong, supportive individuals who can help us grow and thrive. If we use the metaphor of the distillation process, we are taking everything we are exposed to, think of that as the corn, rye, barley, and yeast, and creating the original us, or metaphorical bourbon. In The Sacred Wood Eliot said, “One of the surest of tests [of greatness] is the way in which a poet borrows. Immature poets imitate; mature poets steal; bad poets deface what they take, and good poets make it into something better, or at least something different.” We all need to have deep engagement in incorporating the diverse cultural, literary, and philosophical elements we are exposed to and reinterpreting them.
Karen Burke Lefevre put it this way in Invention As a Social Act:
“There will always be great need for individual initiative, but no matter how inventive an individual wants to be, he will be influenced for better or for worse by the intellectual company he keeps. On top of Mt. Mansfield in Vermont, there are thirty-year-old trees that are only three feet tall. If a tree begins to grow taller, extending beyond the protection of the others, it dies. The moral for inventors [and artists]: Plant yourself in a tall forest if you hope to have ideas of stature.”
Byron's Babbles 
leave a comment